Residents reported dog fouling 550 times in two and a half years, and the council issued five £100 fines. Cabinet is asked on Tuesday to keep the rules to 2029.
Basingstoke and Deane residents reported dog fouling to the council 550 times in two and a half years. In the same period, its patrol officers issued five fines.
The figures are in a report to Cabinet on Tuesday 6 October. Cabinet is asked to keep the borough’s dog fouling rules for another three years. Without a decision they lapse at the end of November.
What the council’s own figures show
The report covers 11 December 2023 to 11 June 2026. Over that time:
- 550 reports of dog fouling were made to the council by the public.
- 138 dog fouling incidents were recorded by the council’s Community Safety Patrol Officers.
- 70 of those were fouling the officers found and reported for clean-up.
- 47 were warnings or advice given to dog walkers.
- 5 were fixed penalty notices.
The report says the 550 reports are “likely” to represent “significant under reporting”. It does not say how many of the five fines were paid, or where in the borough the reports came from.
What the rules say
The order is a Public Spaces Protection Order, or PSPO. It has covered every public space in the borough since 1 December 2020 and was extended in 2023. It makes two things an offence:
- failing to pick up after your dog when it fouls on land the order covers
- not having a bag or other way to pick it up, and not being able to show one when an officer asks
The fixed penalty is £100, cut to £75 if paid early. The report says the fine “is due to increase under the Crime and Policing Act 2026”. It does not say by how much or from when.
97% backed keeping it
The council consulted from 13 July to 23 August 2026. It received 417 responses, and 404 of them (97%) supported renewing the order. Thirteen were against. All but nine came from people living in the borough.
Three organisations also replied: Dogs Trust, the Royal Kennel Club and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary. All three supported it. Dogs Trust and the Kennel Club added that compliance depends on enough bins, enough signs and public awareness campaigns. The council says it reviews those points regularly.
The survey did not let people leave comments, so the report has no detail on why the 13 objected.
What happens on Tuesday
Cabinet meets at 6.30pm on Tuesday 6 October at the Deanes. Officers recommend extending the order to midnight on 30 November 2029, the longest extension the law allows. If Cabinet lets it lapse, the order ends on 1 December 2026. The report says there would then be no offence of failing to clear up after a dog, and officers could no longer issue fines for it.
The report rules out adding anything new. It says the evidence does not support further controls on dog behaviour, and there is not enough time before November to consult on any.
The same agenda carries the taxi fares decision, where officers recommend turning down drivers’ request for a 30p rise.
What it means for you
If you walk a dog anywhere public in the borough, carry bags every time. Not having one is an offence in its own right, even if your dog has not fouled.
If you find dog mess, report it to the council. The report says reports get the mess cleaned up and, where there is evidence, can lead to enforcement. They also steer patrols to hotspots.
Nothing changes on the ground if Cabinet agrees. The same rules and the same £100 fine carry on until the new law raises it.
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