Dukes Meadows New Rules On Dogwalking

Giving 'paws' for thought to locals

Riverside Lands Sports Fields at Dukes Meadows is now designated a Dog exclusion area.

Management of the area, which is a popular spot for leisure activities, with thirteen sports pitches, say they have been dealing with an increase in dog waste removal and had no choice but to enforce new rules.

With six hundred participants in sports ranging from football to rugby and hockey most weekends, complaints had become more frequent. New Council rules were passed regarding dog waste and dog waste removal in August 2013 relating to professional dog-walking and removal of dog waste.

Old Meadonians Football Club took over the management and maintenance of the sports fields in 2001 from LBH. They say their Public Liability Insurance does not cover dog waste based claims. The Football Club has been at Riverside Lands for thirty years.

The new Laws decreasing the maximum number of dogs per person to four should have resulted in less dog waste left on site. One recent Friday, according to a management representative there were more than twelve deposits left on or near both Rugby and Football pitches.

Notices requesting dogwalkers keep to the outside pitch areas and to remove waste from site were ignored and then taken down by "persons unknown". Ten rubbish points with heavy duty black bin bags for waste were installed and used by some but still dog waste appeared said a spokesman.

"Our Public Liability insurance does not cover dog waste related injuries/issues and has resulted in a total ban on dogs on the fields. We have, at our expense, repaired fencing cut with wire cutters and erected gates replacing stolen or damaged ones to secure the site. In recent years we have also had motorised bikes churning up pitches as someone's idea of fun. In order to protect the significant investment in both time and money in maintaining the fields this measure should be a solution."

Fences had been damaged over a period of time allowing members of the public to gain access to the pitches. The club has to make sure the pitches are cleaned before any games can commence.

While some dogwalkers have complained about the situatio( see discussion on the forum), others say that the area still contains a lot of open land on both sides of the railway for dog-walking. The club says that there is no public right of way through Riverside Lands School Playing Fields.

The spokesman says that since the ban on dogwalking there has been a noticeable difference within weeks. Pitches that had sand and topsoil placed to help with drainage are no longer being dug up by dogs.

January 10, 2014