Following a meeting of the Licensing & Regulatory Committee on Monday 21 September, Warwick District Council is clarifying its position in relation to Dog Control Orders in the district.

The Licensing & Regulatory Committee agreed on July 8 that there would be a pre-consultation with stakeholders on the renewal of the District's PSPOs in relation to Dog Control Orders.

Some of these control measures included forcing dog owners to keep dogs on leads at all time in council-operated parks.

This was to be undertaken with stakeholders prior to a public consultation taking place.

The purpose of this pre-consultation was to inform the drafting of the revised orders before going out to public consultation.

The district council has stressed that "the suggestions consulted on during this phase were exactly that, and not final proposals.

"Unfortunately, these pre-consultation suggestions were placed in to the public domain and have, as a result, caused a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding."

Councillor Judy Falp, Portfolio Holder for Health & Community Protection, said: "As part of the legislation, in order to vary or amend any Dog Control Orders, we must undertake a full and fair public consultation.

"At this time, due to the level of public feeling regarding the pre-consultation suggestions, we feel that we are unable to undertake a fair consultation in which all of the facts are known.

"As a result, the Licensing and Regulatory Committee met on Monday 21 September 2020 and agreed to go back to the statutory consultees to ask their views on maintaining the dog orders as they currently stand. Their views will then be fed back to the committee to make a final decision at their meeting on 14 October."