Update
Following publication of the Dog Control Order documents your Bathwick councillors and local residents found many errors in the proposed maps. The consultation has now been withdrawn for these to be corrected and will be relaunched later in the year.
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BathNES Council plan to compile all of their dog control bylaws into a single set of orders, which are now available for public consultation here.
There are five sections; sections 1, 3 and 5 ban dog fouling, give council officers the right to instruct walkers to use leads and restrict walkers to six dogs respectively. These apply to the whole of BathNES. Section 2 requires dog walkers to use leads at all times on the scheduled land. The nearest area to Bathwick with such a restriction proposed is the open space at the junction of Horseshoe Walk and Abbey View.
The most concerning aspect of the consultation is the list of areas from which it is suggested that dogs be banned entirely. The consultation has been deliberately arranged so that public areas where dogs are likely to come into contact with the public are included in this section. It is therefore up to dog walkers to reply to the consultation and request that they be allowed to continue using these areas. Bathwick councillors David Martin and Nicholas Coombes will be responding in this manner. Suggested dog-free areas in Bathwick are:
- Bath University – the entire Claverton campus is covered, which seems excessive
- Smallcombe cemetary – despite the presence of dog bins currently
- St Mary’s Primary School – this seems reasonable, but families with dogs will have to wait outside of the playground
- Canal Gardens allotments – do allotment users like to work with or without their pets?
- Sham Castle – poorly drafted and impractical to exclude from the Skyline walk
- Sydney Gardens – only childrens play area, tennis courts and bowling green intended for exclusion, but poorly drafted
To respond to the consultation email dogcontrolorders@bathnes.gov.uk or write to 9-10 Bath Street, BA1 1SN.