West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) is seeking to vary the Public Spaces Protection Order (Dog Control and Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places) 2022. We want to continue to promote responsible dog ownership and also to prohibit smoking in certain public spaces in the West Northamptonshire area. The council is now seeking to vary the Order to cover the Northampton Area and include the requirement to keep dogs on leads in Northampton town centre and also at Upton Country Park Phase 2.
Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO) allow councils to impose restrictions or requirements on public and some privately owned land to which the public have access to, with or without payment of a fee. A PSPO can deal with persistent and unreasonable nuisances and anti-social behaviour that has a detrimental effect on the quality of life for the local community in a particular area. They are intended to help ensure that the public can use and enjoy public spaces and can help to make West Northamptonshire a better and safer place to live, work and visit.
In October 2022, WNC introduced a new PSPO across the Daventry and South Northants Areas. The Order promotes responsible dog ownership and requires no smoking in certain publicly accessible open spaces.
The requirements and restrictions of the PSPO are summarised as follows. Anyone who is in control of a dog (or dogs) in a public place must:
Additionally, the requirements and restrictions also cover:
The smoking of tobacco, tobacco related products, smokeless tobacco products including electronic cigarettes, herbal cigarettes or any illegal substances is prohibited in the following areas:
A £100 fixed penalty notice (FPN) may be issued for failure to comply with any of the requirements or restrictions contained within the PSPO in line with the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, section 68(2).
Note: A registered blind person, or a person with a disability affecting their mobility, manual dexterity or ability to lift, carry or move everyday objects and who relies upon a dog trained by a prescribed charity for assistance would be exempt from any Order.
There is a legal requirement for the council to have evidence to show the need for orders to be adopted, varied, or extended. The activities controlled by the PSPO need to have had, or be likely to have, an unreasonable and detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality and are, or are likely to be, persistent and continuing in nature.
We are using this consultation to gather evidence and information.
The responses to this consultation will be collated and analysed, and will be used to help draft the variation to the Order which will then be published and taken to a Cabinet meeting for approval. Should the order be made by Cabinet, it will then be introduced across the entire West Northamptonshire Area with further communications and campaigns to support this.
The feedback we receive during this consultation can form part of the evidence we need to extend and vary the PSPO to cover the whole of West Northamptonshire for a maximum of 3 years, prior to this it will be reviewed.
We are keen to hear from the public, interested parties and organisations.
We are inviting you to read further information about the measures and proposals and complete an online consultation questionnaire.
The consultation will close at midnight on Monday 17 April 2023.
Your opinion is very important to us, so if you would like to have your say, please follow the link at the bottom of this page to view further information and complete the online survey.
You do not have to answer all questions if they do not apply, or you do not wish to. There is opportunity to provide comments within part of the survey.
For information about how consultation and engagement responses are managed, please see the consultation and engagement privacy notice.
Maps of the areas the proposed varied PSPO would apply to:
We want to know how you feel about:
We also want to know if you have been adversely affected by the following in the Northampton Area:
The proposed varied Order would not apply to anyone who may use an assistance dog which has been trained to assist a person with a disability as defined under section 6 of the Equality Act 2010.
If you have any queries, comments or would like a copy of this questionnaire in another format (including paper, easy read, or large print) you can contact us by email or telephone. Our contact details are as follows:
Email address: environmentalimprovement.ddc@westnorthants.gov.uk
Telephone: 01327 302260
Thank you for taking part.
The responses to this consultation will be collated and analysed and will be used to help draft the variation to the Order which will then be promoted and taken to a Cabinet meeting for approval in July 2023. Should the Order be made by Cabinet, it will then be introduced across the entire West Northamptonshire Area with further communications and campaigns to support this.
The feedback we receive during this consultation can form part of the evidence we need to extend and vary the PSPO to cover the whole of West Northamptonshire for a maximum of 3 years, prior to this it will be reviewed.
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