North Tyneside Council wants to use new Public Space Protection Orders to clampdown on irresponsible dog ownership and drink-fuelled antisocial behaviour.
The authority has launched a public consultation to decide whether PSPOs should be introduced in the borough.
The orders, brought in under new antisocial behaviour laws, give local authorities new powers to tackle antisocial activities that spoil people’s enjoyment of public spaces.
Council officers and the police would be able to deal more robustly with public drinking and dog fouling. It would also be an offence for dogs to enter certain designated places such as play areas and beaches during the summer months.
Additionally, dogs would have to be kept on a lead in other identified spaces within local parks and cemeteries, and anyone committing an offence would be given a Fixed Penalty Notice of up to £100 and a court fine of up to £1,000 for failure to pay.
Councillor John Stirling, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: “Residents have told us that they want to see the council doing more to tackle the specific problems of dog fouling and street drinking to ensure it does not spoil their enjoyment of our wonderful public spaces.
“New legislation has given us the opportunity to review our approach and see how we can improve our enforcement activities.
“While we recognise that the vast majority of dog owners are responsible and control their pets, we face a constant challenge to keep our pavements, parks, and beaches clear of dog mess, and to ensure people’s safety.
“The new measures would support our vision for North Tyneside as a great place to live, work and visit, and it’s important that we hear the views of local people as we work to finalise our proposals.”
In recent months, the council has increased patrols to combat dog fouling which has led to a string of fines and prosecutions, but existing control orders are set to be refreshed as the new legislation comes into effect.
Members of the public are invited to have their say and help to shape the proposals by completing an online questionnaire, which can be found on the council’s website at my.northtyneside.gov.uk/pspo