Unlicensed Dog Boarding Kennels Prosecuted

ON Wednesday, 31 January 2018, Sefton Council has told the media that it:- "welcomes the successful prosecution of an unlicensed dog boarding company in Southport."

A representative of Paw2Paw Ltd, based on Scarisbrick New Road, plead guilty, at South Sefton Magistrates Court, to 3 offences under the Animal Boarding Establishments Act, relating to keeping an unlicensed dog boarding establishment.

They were fined ₤990 and ordered to pay a ₤33 victim surcharge and ₤1007 in costs, totalling ₤2030.

Sefton Council's Trading Standards team were alerted to issues at Paw2Paw after receiving 3 complaints from members of the public regarding alleged treatment of their dogs while boarding at Scarisbrick New Road.

In 1 complaint it was alleged that a French Bulldog had suffered trauma and bloodshot eyes after boarding with Paw2Paw, while the owner of another noticed a change in the behaviour of their pet after being taken for walks by the company.

Cllr Paulette Lappin, Sefton Council's Cabinet Member for Regulation and Compliance, said:- "This is yet another successful prosecution for our Trading Standards team and my sympathies go out to those owners whose pets fell foul of Paw2Paw Ltd. When customers tried to challenge Paw2Paw and ask to see their licence, they were refused so they turned to our Trading Standards team for help. We welcome the guilty plea and hope that this conviction serves as a stark warning to other unlicensed businesses and those that fail to comply with rules and regulations that we will seek to prosecute. We would like to thank those that came forward to report their concerns, and would encourage others to be vigilant in order to tackle other incidents of a similar nature."

For more information about licensing or to report any concerns you may have visit:- Sefton.Gov.UK/Business/Licensing-Registration.

New plan to drive animation of Liverpool's parks

A plan to encourage and attract more events in Liverpool's parks is set to be considered by the Cabinet. The 1st review of its type for a decade is recommending that a consistent process is introduced for organisations wanting to use the City's green spaces. The audit was recommended by the independent:- 'Strategic Green and Open Space Review Board,' chaired by Simon O'Brien, to help generate money for the maintenance and improvement of sites, offsetting cuts in Central Government funding.

Councillor Wendy Simon, Assistant Mayor and Cabinet member for culture, tourism and events, said:- "We are fortunate to have many stunning parks in our City, and we welcome events that bring them to life and attract people in to them. It can only be right and proper that events which make a profit from the public space whose maintenance is paid for by Council Tax payers make a financial contribution for using it. This is about setting out a clear scale of charges and making sure that we give community groups and charitable organisations a fair deal. We have already trialled some of the charges and have built the feedback we have had into the recommendations."

A sliding scale would be introduced, depending on the location and size of the event, with smaller community events not being charged a site fee, and reduced rates for some organisations such as registered charities.

Councillor Steve Munby, Cabinet member for Highways and City Services, said:- "More than 60% of our budget has been taken away from us by Central Government since 2010, and this means less funding to maintain our parks and open spaces. Put simply we have to find new ways of maintaining our parks. We have taken a really good look at what other big Cities do and we think we have come up with a sensible set of proposals which puts a consistent and transparent pricing structure in place. Inevitably, any event has a knock on cost to Council Taxpayers as they fund maintenance of parks year round, so that has to be reflected in the hire charge."

Charges will also be introduced for activities such as:- professional photography shoots, helicopter landings and small pop up marketing events, while organised walks and talks and personal trainers will have to apply for an annual permit.

Also being considered in the medium term is the introduction of a simple to use online application process, similar to 1 used by Liverpool Film Office, for filming applications from production companies.

The report will be considered by Cabinet on Friday, 9 February 2018.

The charges for 'professional photography shoots' have come under fire in other areas, as have 'walks and talks' and 'personal trainers' permits.  Please send us your views and thoughts on this to:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com.  Will this affect your business and do you think this is a hidden tax move on many small businesses who often use the parks, with out interfering with users?