City leads crackdown on dog fouling

LIVERPOOL is leading the way in dealing with dog owners who allow their pets to foul footpaths and public spaces.  Latest figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) show that the city issued more fixed penalty notices than any other authority for dog fouling.

In 2008-9 – the latest date for which figures are available - the city’s enforcement officers handed out 580 penalties to people who allowed their dogs to foul and failed to clean up the mess. The second highest number was Hartlepool with 238.

While 299 people paid the penalty- a total amount of £14,050 - a further 86 were taken to court after failing to pay. The other cases are awaiting court action. There were no cases in which court action has not followed non-payment of the penalty.

“Dog fouling is an issue which causes real concern among residents and it is one we get frequent complaints about so we make no apologies for taking a very tough line on this.  The message we want get across to irresponsible dog owners is that if you do not clean up after your dog you will pay the penalty or face a court appearance.  I know there will be some people who claim that this sort of enforcement action is only carried out to raise money but that is completely untrue. We would be much happier if we did not have to issue a single penalty notice because that would mean that all dog owners were acting responsibly and we would not have to put so many resources into cleaning up after them.” said Councillor Tim Moore, cabinet member for the environment.

Councillor Tim Beaumont, assistant cabinet member for the environment, said:- “It is only a minority of owners who allow their dogs to foul and we are determined that this irresponsible minority will have to face the consequences. We will continue to take enforcement action until the message gets home.”

Liverpool also recorded the second highest number of fixed penalties imposed for litter offences with 2757 imposed and offenders paying a total of £17,675. There were 455 prosecutions after failure to pay the fixed penalty. Peterborough issued the highest number of penalties with 3110.

“Again, litter is an issue which causes a great deal of concern to residents so we will take enforcement action whenever possible.  We all want to have a clean and litter-free city and we will take action against those anti-social people who drop litter.” said Councillor Moore.

Pick up your bus pass closer to home

MERSEYTRAVEL is closing the ticket unit at its head office in Hatton Garden from Monday, 20 December 2010, and transferring its services to travel centres across Merseyside.

Travel passes for older people and people who have certain disabilities are now available from all seven Merseytravel centres across Merseyside at Liverpool ONE, Birkenhead, Southport, Bootle, St Helens, Huyton and Liverpool Queen Square. You can also apply at any post office in Merseyside.

Neil Scales, chief executive of Merseytravel said:- “For some time we have been rationalising the way Merseytravel operates, in order to improve service to customers and save money wherever we can. With the introduction of smart ticketing and improvement of our travel centres, we have taken the decision to close the Hatton Garden ticket office. This enables us to make considerable savings on running costs; however no jobs have been lost as staff have been redeployed.”

Merseytravel offers free travel on buses, trains and Mersey Ferries if you live in Merseyside and you are aged 60 or over, or if you have certain disabilities.

You may qualify for a Disabled Persons Travel Pass if you meet the conditions of any of the seven categories of disability defined in the Transport Act 2000. Further details are available from any Merseytravel Centre, by phoning:- 0151 236 6056 also you can use the minicom on:- 0151 330 1270 or go online.  Public can also write to:- Hub Support, Merseytravel, 24 Hatton Garden, Liverpool L3 2AN.

To apply for your first Merseytravel Local Travel Pass you will need to supply proof of your age and proof that your address is in Merseyside. If applying at a post office, you will need a recent passport-sized photograph of yourself, if you are applying at a Merseytravel Centre a photograph will be taken at the counter.

FATAL RTC ON EAST LANCS. ROAD, VICTIMS NAMED

MERSEYSIDE Police have released the names of the two 16 year old boys killed in a RTC in Walton on Sunday, 19 December 2010.  James Doran and Jordan Kenny, who were both from Walton, died following the RTC on East Lancs Road when the Peugeot 207 they were travelling with collided with a tree and a garden wall of a house at around 4.55am.  The 21 year old driver of the car remains in hospital in a stable condition at time of posting of this report online.