From 1 August 2023, the Fixed Penalty Fine for these offences will rise from £80 to £200 (the fine will be reduced to £150 if paid within 14 days) emphasising the Council’s commitment to maintaining cleaner communities and reinforcing the message that littering and dog fouling will not be tolerated.
Both dog fouling and littering are not only impacting our town centres, streets and open spaces, but also occur frequently along quiet country lanes, polluting the beautiful countryside around us. As well as harming our precious environment, it also comes with a significant financial impact, with street cleansing costs for Northern Ireland estimated to exceed £30million annually since 2020 (research by Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful).
In its efforts to tackle dog fouling, the Council’s Enforcement team will soon be launching a new campaign aimed at encouraging responsible dog ownership, to include a “Dog Watch” scheme, encouraging residents to both pick up after their own dog, but also to report offenders. There is a small minority of people who let their dog foul indiscriminately and research shows that the best campaigns make people stop and think. The Council hopes that the new dog fouling campaign will get the residents of Borough talking and will tackle the challenge of changing behaviour head-on.
In support of this campaign, there will be increased presence of Council Enforcement Officers on patrol in the Borough, reminding people that it is an offence to fail to clean up after their dog. The Council will be reaching out to local community organisations and residents groups, to work closely with our Enforcement Officers to help tackle hot spot areas for dog fouling.
Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Councillor Mark Cooper said, “The Council constantly receives feedback from residents about the cleanliness of the Borough and people are keen for us to do more to tackle the problem of litter. We hope that this increase in fines reinforces that littering and dog fouling are not going to be tolerated in the Borough. We will continue to tackle littering behaviour, advocating education through community engagement, raising awareness of the damage it causes and supporting the clean-up efforts by volunteers. Putting litter and dog foul in the bin is a simple task and we should all make this our second nature”.
To report all dog fouling, littering or fly tipping in your area you can report online at antrimandnewtownabbey.gov.uk/report or on the ANBorough App (Visit App Store or Google Play and search ANBorough).
Alternatively you can contact Environmental Health
E. envhealth@antrimandnewtownabbey.gov.uk
T. 028 9034 0160