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| Rhodri Owen walking a dog |
It used to be a regular stroll in the park for the dog walkers of Blaenau Gwent but a playing field is now a hotbed of controversy following a council decision to ban dogs from one area.
Cherie Morgan, who has walked her dogs on a field in Nantgylo for 30 years, is angered about a recent change in policy at the local authority.
She said, “I’ve been using this playing field for 30 years since 1979 when I moved to Nantyglo. I’ve always walked my dogs, everyone in the area has walked their dogs.”
Her three year old Jack Russell was being walked by her grandson Kristian in January when he had a bit of a surprise. He was told by two security guards that he was breaking the law.
Cherie said,“ My grandson said ‘What have I done’ and they said ‘You’re in the dog exclusion zone’ and they issued him with a £70 fixed penalty notice.
Cherie was unaware that the council had created a dog exclusion zone in the playing fields. It’s all part of their new Dog Control Orders which apply to several public places in Blaenau Gwent.
She said, “I was so annoyed, I didn’t know I was breaking the law, there's no way this fine will be paid. I will go to any court, prison but I will not pay the fine.”
Blaenau Gwent Council says there was publicity for the new rules in the lead up to the change-over but Cherie claims there aren’t enough signs showing where you can and can’t walk your dog.
X-Ray’s Rhodri Owen went to meet Cherie to check out the signs and asked her to point some out. She said, “Well this is my point, we’ve used the entrance for 30 years, if we don’t know we’re breaking the law how can they fine us? If there was a sign here saying, obviously we wouldn’t use it.”
Cherie isn't the only one who was unaware of the changes. Dog owner Ken Jones has been walking his pet Choc in the playing fields for years and at the entrance he uses , there are no signs. He said,
“Two chappies came across and said the dog was off the lead and in an exclusion zone and they were going to summons me, I said well there’s no fences here, no signs to say I can't bring the dog here.”
Ken was given a £75 fine and said he found the penalty harsh.
“The fine was hard for me and my wife to have to pay it because we're both pensioners but we were so worried about it to pay it, because if it went to court, we'd have to pay extra, wouldn't we?”
Welsh Assembly Guidelines for Dog Control orders state signs must be placed at regular intervals, on or near land to which the order applies. That's not the case at the entrance Cherie and Mr Jones use.
When Rhodri visited one of the playing field entrances, there was a sign – and in one green area dogs are allowed in – but another area, marked red, it is a dog-free zone.
But, as Rhodri found, there is confusion as to where the exclusion zone starts and ends – and dog walkers say if they enter the park through the main gates, they have got to go through the exclusion zone to get to the area where they can walk their dogs.
They say there are signs at the official entrances - and they'll look into whether they can make it clearer for dog walkers to understand where they can - and can't go.
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