Crawley dog orders branded 'absolutely crazy'
The Public Space Protection Orders have led to anger from some residents
‘Absolutely crazy’ was the call from the public gallery after Crawley Borough Council agreed that dogs should be kept on the lead in parts of Tilgate Park.
Plans for a Public Space Protection Order covering Tilgate Lake, the Peace Garden, lawn area and the golf course were approved during a meeting of the full council on Wednesday (July 20).
The subject proved emotive, with several members of the public speaking against the plans and often making their annoyance clear during the debate.
The call for a PSPO started last year when the council received a petition after a dog was attacked by another, which was not on a lead.
While recognising that most dog owners acted responsibly when out with their pets, councillors at the time recalled incidents of wildlife such as swans and deer being chased or attacked, while one revealed that his daughter had been bitten by a dog which ran out of the lake.
A report from the council’s head of community services said 22 dog-related reports had been made to Sussex Police between 2018 and 2021.
Two public consultations into the PSPO attracted more than 2,800 responses, with 58.4 per cent (1,631 people) opposing the plans.
During the meeting, there were calls from the public for the numbers to be honoured and the plans dropped.
David Lightfoot, of Furnace Green, said: “If any of you believe in democracy, is it not the case that you should be putting into place the will of the people who were consulted?
“They’ve told you clearly that they don’t want it and that is what should be respected.”
While one member of the public accused the council of discriminating against dog owners, another asked why the golf course had been included in the PSPO.
There was even a suggestion that the signage for the course, telling people to keep their dogs on the lead, had been drawn up before a vote was even taken – though this was denied by leader Michael Jones.
An amendment asking for the golf course to be removed from the PSPO was tabled by Conservative leader Duncan Crow.
Mr Crow worried that the council would make ‘a dog’s breakfast’ of the process and pointed out that including the golf course would stretch the PSPO over a wide area, making enforcement more difficult.
His suggestion, though, was voted down by 19 votes to 11 with one abstention.
Calls for a third public consultation also failed.
Mr Jones told the meeting that there would still be 241 acres in the park where dogs could run off the lead.
He added: “It’s not an outright prohibition on dogs. People can still take their dogs to Tlgate Park. It’s just that in some areas you’ll have to make sure they’re on leads.
“This is for other people’s safety and the wildlife in those areas. I do not believe that this is unreasonable.
“There will still be plenty of areas for people to exercise their dogs off leash outside of those areas.”
His words were greeted with a cry of: “You should be ashamed of yourselves – this is not democracy” from the public gallery.
The PSPO will come into effect later this year once the signage is installed.
It will apply every day of the year and last for three years.
Anyone found breaching it will be subject to a Fixed Penalty Notice of £100.