Council could call for new legislation following dog attack in Surrey
Tandridge District Council's wanting to set up an 'action plan'
A council “action plan” will be set up to explore next steps after a woman died in a dog attack in Caterham – including a push for new laws.
Tandridge District Council’s community services committee discussed its response to the Gravelly Hill incident, in which a 28-year-old woman was killed last week, with eight dogs still being held by police.
The family of the woman, who has not yet been named, released a statement on Tuesday (January 17) saying it is an “extremely difficult time” and asking the media to respect their privacy.
On the same day, the committee agreed a statement to be released by the council, with the chair making clear the need to be “extremely sensitive” and not discuss any details of the attack while a police investigation was still ongoing.
Surrey Police confirmed the victim, from London, was walking “a number of dogs” at the time of the attack, and that the owners of all the dogs held by police were being kept up to date with the investigation.
Meeting chair Councillor Jackie Wren offered condolences to the family on behalf of the council and said she had brought the incident to be discussed by the committee due to the “level of correspondence” councillors had been receiving and to “acknowledge people’s concerns”.
She added: “The tragic incident is part of an ongoing police investigation and therefore it’s very important that nobody speculates on what actually occurred.”
Cllr Wren (Oxted & Limpsfield Residents’ Group, Oxted North & Tandridge) said that along with senior officers, the council leader and the council’s dog warden, she was working with police to support them during the investigation.
The meeting agreed a statement to be put out by the council, as put forward by Cllr David Lee (Liberal Democrat, Whyteleafe), as an “action plan for the next few steps and to ensure the safety of our residents is upheld”.
Since 2020 the council has had policies in place for professional dog walkers using Tandridge District Council parks and open spaces, including walking a maximum of six dogs and registration with a national body.
The committee agreed to ask officers to prepare a report as soon as the police investigation had concluded, either to be brought to the next meeting or to a specially-called meeting if needed.
The report will look at what could be done to protect dog-walking businesses and to enhance public safety, according to Cllr Lee, who read out the statement.
He said the report should also include reducing the limit of dogs to be walked by professional dog walkers at one time and looking at limits of dog sizes to be walked at the same time.
It should also look at other measures, as suggested by professional dog walking organisations, police and others, and the promotion of the council’s dog walker licencing scheme.
He added: “Once the police investigation has concluded the chairman, vice chairman and other members should meet with the MP to present evidence that could lead to changes in possible nationwide legislation and regulation.”
The council’s leader confirmed she was having a meeting with the East Surrey MP, Claire Coutinho, in February and that the issue could be discussed then.
While the issue of how many dogs it was financially viable for dog walkers to be allowed was raised by one councillor, the chair confirmed this would have to be discussed after the officer report had been produced and the police investigation concluded.