Play area pet ban signs

The signs have gone up at leisure spots across Sandwell, including a golf course and children's play areas, informing people of draft dog control orders which propose to make it an offence to take or allow a dog on to children's play areas, school grounds, sporting areas within parks as well as cemeteries, memorial gardens and gardens of remembrance.

Some dog owners have reacted angrily to the new signs about the public consultation by Sandwell Council.

Tony Shaw from Oldbury, who saw the signs at Brandhall Golf Course, said: "I have been a dog owner for years.

"The council said that people had misinterpreted the plans to ban dog walking and seemed to say it was all off. Now it seems to be back on."

But dog owner Frank Evans, from West Bromwich, who walks his pet in Sandwell Valley and Dartmouth Park, said he was in favour of some of the proposals. He said: "I agree that dogs shouldn't be off the lead in or near children's play areas."

Original plans which included restricting the number of dogs people can walk and a blanket ban on letting dogs off their leads were scrapped earlier this year.

The council is currently consulting on the latest proposals to introduce dog control orders across the borough.

Councillor Derek Rowley, Sandwell's cabinet member for safer communities, said: "The consultation in the spring was halted to allow the council to look further into the matter.

"It wasn't clear enough what we were putting forward for consultation and unfortunately there was misinterpretation that we were planning to ban dogs completely from all parks and open spaces, which was never the case.

"We've now had time to look more closely at the whole subject of dog control and will take steps in the consultation to clearly define the areas where dogs won't be allowed.

"The earlier consultation also made it clear that people did not want a limit on the maximum number of dogs people could walk."