Action is being taken to curb the behaviour of disobedient dog owners and their nuisance pets in Keswick town centre and its parks.
Members of the Keswick Parks Charitable Trusts were due to hear last night that there had been a number of complaints received by the town council about dog issues in recent weeks following on from a discussion about the problems caused at the last meeting of the trust.
Since then, council clerk Vivien Little has contacted Cumberland Council in a bid to bring dog owners to heel and keep their pets on a tighter leash.
A request that the dog warden do regular checks through Fitz Park as well as Market Square has been obeyed but, as Vivien said ‘they can’t be there all the time’.
“We cannot enforce anything on Fitz Park, as it is a large open area, and the vast majority of dogs are well behaved, but it is one or two who spoil it for everyone else,” said Vivien in a report to the trust. “Even if we wanted to ensure that dogs were on leads at all times, it couldn’t be enforced.”
She said the trust could introduce a code of conduct for Fitz Park, with notices at the entrance, and possibly leave leaflets at the cafe along with a social media campaign welcoming dog owners but requesting that they ensure their dog is on a lead or under control at all times.
She said the trust should focus the campaign on “especially difficult times” which are the start and end of the school holidays.
“I think that whatever we do must be in collaboration with Cumberland Council and the Lake District National Park Authority as they both promote dog friendliness, which is contributing to the problem,” said Vivien.
The trust is taking action after receiving correspondence from a local who went to the cinema with his grand-daughters but found walking the pavements “a minefield of dog dirt”.
The complainant described Market Square as a “disgrace” with “dogs galore and wee everywhere, even on shop boards outside cafes”.
“The stone benches had dogs seated on them rather than humans and again dog wee all around,” said the complainant, adding: “My daughter was waiting in the park and encountered the same dog poo everywhere with a small child. Avoiding it on the grass was a nightmare.”
Another complainant wrote about the many dog walkers who continuously ignore the signs to keep dogs on a leash as she walks her children to and from school through Fitz Park and on the Keswick to Threlkeld trail to avoid the main road.
“Every day I have the same stress with dog walkers who think it’s acceptable to have their dogs running riot in the park,” she said.
“I have a five-year-old child who is terrified of dogs and it certainly doesn’t help having big energetic dogs running towards her wanting to jump up or chase my children.”
