Sefton Council is undertaking a week of activities to keep the Borough clean, green and beautiful.

Green Sefton officers will be speaking to dog owners, other users and visitors at its popular parks and coastal locations this week, encouraging them to play their part in keeping these beauty spots free from dog fouling and rubbish. They will also be installing new signage to remind people to scoop up their dogs’ poop in hotspots where dog fouling is a persistent issue.

Mess left behind by park users and dog walkers is a significant concern for the Council and for residents. This has particularly been the case over the past year when these places have seen huge increases in visitor numbers as people have spent more time outdoors.

Officers will also be reminding park users of the recently reintroduced rules under the dog control Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO). The Order means that in addition to it still being an offence to not remove dog fouling, the maximum number of dogs that can be walked by one person is six. Also, dogs must be kept on a lead of no more than 2m within defined areas and prevents them entering area such as closed playgrounds and marked sports pitches.

This ensures everyone can enjoy Sefton’s open spaces, picnic areas, playgrounds and sports pitches in harmony.

Locations where people can find Green Sefton officers this week are as follows:

• Tuesday 25^th May – morning at Derby Park, Bootle and afternoon at Marian Gardens, Netherton
• Wednesday 26^th May – morning at Seafront Gardens/Coastal Park, Crosby and afternoon at Victoria Park, Waterloo
• Thursday 27^th May – morning at Ainsdale Local Nature Reserve and afternoon at Hesketh Park, Southport

Two weeks of community and volunteer-focused litter picking activity will then follow on from Friday 28^th May, as the Council joins forces with the Keep Britain Tidy Great British Spring Clean.

Cllr Ian Moncur, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, said: “Sefton has 22-miles of stunning coastline, more than 30 parks and around 180 open spaces. All these places have been more popular than ever over the past year for residents and visitors as people have enjoyed spending time outdoors.

“We have an incredibly passionate workforce who look after these sites, many of whom are experts on conservation and environmental issues. They work side-by-side a network of enthusiastic volunteers and community groups who together ensure our outdoor spaces are great places for people, animals and plants to thrive.

“Sadly, not everyone helps to protect these places by taking their rubbish home, by respecting the hard work that goes into caring for plants and wildlife, or by clearing up after their dogs.

“At the coast this can threaten rare species and damage the dunes. And, while in parks it’s not only unpleasant to come across dog mess or discarded rubbish, but coupled with anti-social behaviour, much of the good work undertaken by Council staff and volunteers can be undone.

“These next few weeks of activity should be a reminder to everyone across Sefton that we are determined to keep our outdoor spaces in the best possible condition, focusing our resources on the key problems that we find people are most concerned about – that’s littering and dog fouling.

“But as we’ve seen throughout the pandemic, it’s amazing what a collective community effort can achieve. So, with more people than ever spending time in our parks or at our beaches, we are confident they will want to play their role in respecting and protecting these important places.”

Anyone who would like to volunteer for a litter picking activity, might have an interest in joining a ‘Friends of…’ park group or would like to spend more time at the coast as a Beach Ambassador should get in touch.

To find out more, people can contact the Green Sefton team directly by email at greensefton@sefton.gov.uk