The partnership tackling the dirty issue of dog fouling in County Durham is thanking the public for their help during a recent community based consultation exercise.

Durham County Council and Durham Constabulary have been working closely with residents across the county to address the issues of dog fouling and litter, two of the biggest areas of public concern in the county.

A series of feedback sessions were designed to help the council and the police understand why public perception of low level anti social behaviour remained high, despite a significant reduction in incident levels.  During discussions residents were supportive of the wide spread education and enforcement initiatives in place.

However some additional suggestions will now be considered as part of a drive to improve the partners’ response even further. These include improving signage on litter bins to highlight that they can be used for dog foul, greater use of existing powers requiring litter producing businesses to clear up areas and the possibility of a voluntary warden scheme specifically targeting these two issues.

Oliver Sherratt, head of direct services with Durham County Council, said: “We have worked really hard with very significant success to tackle these issues, with information from the public often playing a key role in solving problems at very local level.

“A good example of this took place recently in Willington where two fixed penalty notices were handed to the same person for not picking up after their pet, addressing an issue of real concern to residents. While we prefer education we will use enforcement where we need to.” Mark Farren, Durham County Council’s southern education and enforcement manager, said: “The information we received in Willington was particularly useful as it enabled our neighbourhood wardens to track down those responsible for leaving dog foul in a particular area. We would encourage all residents who are concerned about problems like this to contact us with whatever information they have to enable us to take the appropriate action.”

Ivan Wood from Durham Constabulary said: “We recognise the importance of tackling such low level anti-social acts as important in preventing more serious crime and disorder Continues…

which is why PCSO’s are empowered to issue fixed penalty notices for littering and dog fouling.

“Consequently we are equally pleased with the contribution that residents have made at these focus groups and we will be working in partnership with the council to ensure improvements are made.”

To report issues like this call 0300 026 1000 or email help@durham.gov.uk