Wolverhampton council announce new rule for dog owners in city-wide order

A council is looking to extend restrictions on dogs in public spaces – including a new rule which it hopes reduces the cost of housing stray dogs.

City of Wolverhampton Council wants to renew a city-wide public space protection order (PSPO) for another three years which includes rules on where to keep dogs on leads.

Breaching the rules could lead to a £100 fine.

The local authority is also looking to add another rule which says every dog must wear a collar with the owner’s name and address.

The measure is being introduced to reduce the number of stray dogs the council is unable to re-home immediately.

The council said dog wardens could only return stray dogs to owners with up-to-date microchip information or identification tags and without this, it is legally required to care for the animals through approved kennels which came at a “considerable” cost.

Councillors approved the introduction of the city-wide PSPO in 2023 and it expires at the end of September.

The council’s cabinet meets again on September to renew the order for another three years.

City of Wolverhampton Council said it handles between 280 and 350 stray dogs a year and less than five per cent have ID tags.

The authority added that kennel and warden charges have increased significantly in recent years and last year’s budget was £120,000.

The existing stipulations of the PSPO includes keeping dogs on leads near major roads – including the city centre ring road and ten other A roads passing through Wolverhampton.

The order also places restrictions to ensure dogs are kept on leads within 100 metres of a school and at Bushbury’s Northycote Farm.

Dogs are also banned from water features or similar facilities at council-controlled facilities at parks, open spaces, town centres, nature reserves and country parks such as fountains, ponds and splash pads.

Earlier this year, the council’s cabinet approved a three-year ban on street drinking, begging and riding e-scooters and e-bikes dangerously in Wolverhampton city centre in a bid to tackle its ‘unwelcoming’ reputation.

The order gave police extra powers to ban anyone from the city centre for 24 hours if they are causing or believed to likely cause nuisance, disorder, harassment, alarm or distress.

The council said residents and businesses had repeatedly reported concerns over anti-social behaviour in the city centre including people injecting drugs, street drinking, loitering, aggressive begging and dangerous e-scooter and e-bike riding.

The council also approved a three-year PSPO for Bentley Bridge Retail Park which gives police the same powers to disperse groups of three or more if they are causing or likely to cause a nuisance.

The order would help tackle “persistent anti-social behaviour, violence, and shoplifting within the retail park, which has seen a significant rise in youth-related incidents and disorder,” the council said.