Beauty spot ‘not seeking to cash in’ by issuing fines

BRADGATE Park bosses say they have not issued a single fine since bringing in rules two years ago to try to stop out-of-control dogs from attacking deer.

The trustees who run the attraction are looking to extend restrictions on where dogs can be walked without leads.

The restrictions are enforceable with £100 penalties.

However, some people on social media have branded the rules a money-making exercise.

Peter Tyldesley, director of the Bradgate Park Trust, said: “It is a bit frustrating when I see people suggesting that.

“The only aim is to protect the deer who live in the park.

“The truth is we have not made a penny from this, we have not issued any fines – we have not had to.

“The simple threat of enforcement has done the trick.”

Mr Tyldesley said there were 30 reports of dog attacks on deer in the winter of 2015 before the public space protection order (PSPO) bylaw came into force.

He said there were three such incidents last winter.

He said: “Our philosophy is to impose the minimum restriction necessary to solve the problem.

“We don’t want to issue fines. Our rangers have a three-step approach when they see a dog off the lead where it should not be.

“They ask for the dog to be put on the lead.If that doesn’t happen they tell the person to put the dog on the lead.

“The third step – and we have never got this far – is to issue a fine. Dog owners understand the rules and comply with them.”

Mr Tyldseley said any income from fines would be re-invested in the £1.4 million annual cost of run- ning the park.

A consultation on changing the PSPO runs until June 8.

Currently, dog owners visiting the county beauty spot between April 1 (or Good Friday, if it falls earlier) and October 31 must keep their pets on leads in the lower portion of the park, known as the Yellow Zone.

The current PSPO allows fines to be issued to owners who fail to clean up their dogs’ mess anywhere in the park and who fail to comply with a request to put a dog on a lead, by an authorised officer on any land to in the park’s Green Zone, which covers the upper three quarters of the estate.

The aim is to bring the restriction in all year round.

An online consultation runs up to June 8. Paper forms are available from the visitor centre and tearooms at the park or can be requested by post. bradgatepark.org