Oldham Council failed to renew dog fouling enforcement order leading to years of missed fines and being able to crack down on this anti-social behaviour

Oldham Council has been blasted for failing to renew several enforcement orders for environmental crime.  Oldham’s Liberal Democrat Opposition councillors have revealed that the Council has failed to issue a single Fixed Penalty Notice for dog fouling since 2021. 

Details uncovered by Liberal Democrat representative for Saddleworth West and Lees councillor Mark Kenyon confirm that no fines were issued for dog fouling in the years 2022 to 2024.  When pushed by Liberal Democrat Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Oldham Council was forced to confirm that it failed to renew its enforcement orders for dog fouling, leading to years of missed fines despite hundreds of reported offences they were not able to crack down on.

Councillor Sykes said, “This is an unforgivable and basic error for the Council to be making.  By failing to get the basics right like this, the Council has missed hundreds of opportunities to prosecute an environmental crime and tackle this anti-social behaviour.”

This follows on from the news that Oldham Council allowed public space protection orders (PSPO) covering green spaces and moor lands to lapse in late 2023, meaning that the Council has been unable to prosecute environmental crime in those areas for more than six months. 

Councillor Sykes said, “People will be appalled to learn that the Council has failed to protect our moors and green spaces.  Over the years we’ve had fires on the moors started by disposable BBQs and alike.  This is exactly the sort of crime we would currently be unable to prosecute because the Labour administration has left our green spaces without proper legal protection.  We now find we our powerless about dog-fouling, makes you wonder what else has not been done doesn’t it.”