COUNCILLORS have said that plans to bring in new rules about dog fouling would be a “complete waste of time” unless enforcement was carried out to penalise those owners who failed to pick-up the mess left behind by their pets.

Somerset Council has been consulting with town and parish councils, as well as the public, about its plans to consolidate all existing dog control Public Spaces Protection Orders, known as PSPOs, across the county.

PSPOs are legal tools available under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to tackle behaviours harmful to community quality of life.

Somerset Council intends to replace a “patchwork” of existing orders across the county with two main PSPOs – dog fouling and dogs on leads and dog exclusion zones and mandatory lead areas.

A consultation paper has said that it will be an offence not to pick-up dog faeces, while officers may instruct a dog to be put on a lead if needed for safety or nuisance concerns. It also says that dogs will be excluded from enclosed play areas, ornamental gardens, cemeteries and burial grounds, while they must be on lads at all times in high-footfall places.

But members of Wellington Town Council’s environment committee were less than enthused about the report – as they don’t believe the rules will not be implemented.

And dog fouling – which seems to have been a problem forever – is still very much a bone of contention for local councillors.

The mayor, Cllr Janet Lloyd, said: “We have all seen the stuff on the pavement that shouldn’t be seen on the pavement. It’s not the dogs that need to be policed – it’s the owners.

“How is all this going to be policed? I don’t think I have ever heard of anyone in Wellington being prosecuted for not picking-up dog mess.”

Cllr Mark Lithgow said: “You can have as many PSPOs as you want, but if there is no enforcement then what is the point … you might as well save the paper and ink.

“There have been times when walking along the pavement I have had to slalom my way round the dog mess.

“But this is a waste of time spending breath on this if there isn’t going to any enforcement.”

Cllr Mike McGuffie said: “I think the whole thing is a waste of time. Dog fouling is an issue, but I do not think this is the solution. Dog owners need better education.”

The town council’s chief executive Dave Farrow thanked the councillors for their feedback and that no representation would be made to Somerset Council.

Mr Farrow had said that he would not be keen on having to ask any of his staff members to challenge dog owners about picking up the mess left behind by their pets.

A Somerset Council report said it wanted universal PSPOs to cover the entire county about dogs.

“We currently have a structure where separate dog control PSPOs exist for different areas and offences – and this presents significant challenges,” said the report.