Bohemia Village Voice  Bohemia Village Voice

For bohemians everywhere

Dog mess – who is responsible for reporting dog mess?

The Voice was contacted by a St Peter’s Road resident concerned about dog mess.

Mrs Jo Hunter writes: “I have noticed recently, the large amount of dog mess on our streets. It seems to have got worse recently. There are a couple of examples in St Peter’s Road which have been there for over a week and are gradually being dissipated by the occasional unlucky pedestrian stepping into the stuff. I know that if I ring up the Council, the mess will hopefully be cleared. Is this is an efficient way of dealing with the problem? Why should it be up to residents to alert the Council? There are many employees of the Council paid to walk our streets. Would it not be sensible to designate one of these groups as being responsible for reporting occurences of dog fouling?”

The Voice checked the Council’s website for their policy on clearing up dog mess but drew a blank. In January, we also sent the following email to the Council (together@hastings.gov.uk) “Can you please let us know what the Council’s policy is regarding the clearing of dog mess from our streets. What is the mechanism which ensures that the mess is cleared up? Does the Council wait to be informed that there is a pile of dog mess at location X in Street Y? Or is it the responsiblity of street bobbies or street cleaners to report the mess? Thank you for any help you can give”.

Cllr Cartwright kindly asked the Head of Environmental Health to contact us. It is sad to report that at the date of going to press (16th Feb), we have had no reply to our email or heard from  Environmental Health. Perhaps they hope we’ll just go away. We won’t.

 

COMMENTS

John Breakspeare writes (May 2009)

Dear Sir, I refer to the dog mess query in the March issue of the Voice. [Mrs Hunter queried the reliance on residents to report dog mess and wondered whether using council employees who already walk our streets wouldn’t be more efficient]. How much will you have to pay in Council Tax for an army of people to visit every street, every day? No, Mrs Hunter, you are not right to say that it is the sole responsibility of the local authority. I don’t sit back and say ‘It’s not my job to do it’. If I see anything wrong, I pick up the phone and report it. We all have a responsibility, residents and council. John Breakspeare, Cherry Tree Close.

 

Colin and Alison Payne write (Jul 2009)

Dear Sir, it was an interesting article in the May edition of the Village Voice regarding dog mess in Bohemia. However I was dismayed at the headline “What is our council doing about dog mess?” Surely it’s got nothing to do with the council! If dog owners were more responsible then we wouldn’t have to use council tax to clear up the mess, employ wardens and cameras etc. This would ultimately reduce our tax bill. In the article on page 10 “pooper scooper law” the last paragraph makes the point that “the law has pretty much trained New York dog owners to be responsible”.  Your headline on page 8 should have emphasised dog owner responsibility – not to blame the poor old council! Despite this, we do enjoy your magazine. Colin and Alison Payne.

Leave a Response

You must be logged in to post a comment.