THE fight on dog fouling in Shropshire will be discussed by councillors in Oswestry on Wednesday, according to an agenda item.

Shropshire Council’s current consultation on the implementation of a public space prevention order (PSPO) against dog fouling, which opened on Thursday, October 26 and will close on December 21.

The consultation has been put into place after, according to the council, its Dog Warden Service has said it has seen increased reports of dog fouling in the county.

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And now the council is consulting on whether to use anti-social behaviour legislation to force dog owners to potentially follow a series of new rules or face a fixed penalty notice of £100 or even a maximum fine of £1,000.

Included in this potential PSPO is ordering owners to put their dogs on leads as well as keeping them on leads when on a public highway at all times.

It will also force owners to keep dogs away from play areas and multi-use games areas – which could impact on families with dogs and children – while some exemptions may be made for assistance dogs.

Councillors will be asked to give their views on the consultation.

Oswestry Town Council has recently led its own fight back against unruly dog owners who have failed to pick up their dog’s excrement, even launching an app for anonymous reporting.

The town council has been included in the consultation by parish councils; West Mercia Police; John Campion, the police and crime and commissioner’; landowners; dog walking businesses and voluntary/community groups, among others.

According to the consultation, there has been a health impact assessment carried out which has found that young people are less likely to be unwell if not exposed to dog fouling.

The consultation is available on Shropshire Council’s website.

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Meanwhile, other items on the agenda include feedback from staff over a Community Wellbeing Day at the Hope Church, in Oswestry town centre, last month.

There will also be a report from operations manager Henry Teuma on upgrades to be made to street lighting.

The meeting will begin at 7pm at the Guildhall on the Bailey Head.