Friends of Hilly Fields - record turnout for meeting

There was a record turnout of around 40 people for last night's meeting of Friends of Hilly Fields, with standing room only in the park keeper's office. Normally between 5 and 10 people show up. The reason that so many people came last night was due to concern over the wording of an article on the Friends of Hilly Fields' website, which was rather anti-dog and threatening to try and ban dogs from Hilly Fields.

The post wasn't written by the chair, or the other active members of the group, didn't represent their views, and has since been removed, but had clearly caused distress to a number of responsible dog owners who had read it. Once this was clarified, a very productive meeting ensued, with lots of dog walkers hopefully leaving with an appreciation of the hard work that a relatively small number of committed friends of Hilly Fields have been carrying out on a voluntary basis for a number of years.

Among the items discussed, some of which Rachel, the chair of the group will be following up on directly, and others which I will follow up on, were:

• The failure of Glendale to clear away the Autumn leaves in a timely fashion. The park keeper Keith had done his bit, and collected all the leaves in one area, but they were only removed in January/February, by which time, the Spring bulbs were already coming up and the eventual removal of the leaves from the shaded garden area caused damage to the usually impressive display of crocuses and snowdrops in that part of the park. Glendale have apologised, but the Friends are keen to make sure we don't see a similar occurence next year. This has something that had already been flagged up to me and I have followed up on via the casework system.
  
• The spraying of fungicide on the tennis courts - a gentleman present wanted to know what was sprayed, whether this was within guidelines and whether there was any risk to children on the adjacent play area. (Mike knows a lot more about this kind of thing than I do, and chatted to the resident concerned afterwards).
• The poor state of the steps to the park from Vicar's Hill, and the fact that the corpse of a dead fox had been near the Vicar's Hill entrance since the beginning of February and not removed despite being reported.
• The perceived increase in vehicle usage in the park, on paths rather than just on the roads around, and the damage this was doing both to paths and the grass alongside them, with muddy ruts appearing. This is something I've noticed more of recently too, and think Glendale need to make clear to their staff that they should only be driving their trucks on the park when they need to move equipment, not everytime they want to get from A to B rather than walking.
• The proposals for a mini-orchard of 8 apple trees between the stone circle and the nature reserve.
• The fact that Friends of Hilly Fields have affiliated to the Octavia Hill society and are looking to commemorate the centenary of her birth with a project in the shaded garden area in her honour. Octavia Hill was a leading social reformer and one of the founders of the National Trust. She lived locally (on Elswick Road I believe) and was instrumental in raising subscriptions to save Hilly Fields from being built over. More info on the history section of the Friends of Hilly Fields website.
• Keith, the Hilly Fields bird champion, (who has a blog too), reported that 18 species were spotted during the Hilly Fields Big Bird Watch at the end of January.
• The state of the footpaths in the park and concern over safety at the Tyrwhitt Road/Hilly Fields Crescent junction (I'll blog about this separately as I asked questions at the recent Council meeting on this subject).
• The gate to the shaded garden area still not having been fixed, which means that dogs off leads wander in, when it is supposed to be a dog free area (I've reported this twice now via the casework system, and been told it's on the list, but why it takes so long to repair a gate I don't know).
• The possibility of organising another Dawn Chorus (for those who like to get up and listen to birdsong at 6am). Apparently the beginning of April is the best time to do this.
• Josh from Lewisham Community Sports was there to answer questions about his organisation's work in the park. Some concern was expressed that the grass by the stone circle has still not recovered from the lengthy period the marquee was up last year, and there was some discussion as to whether Glendale should have done remedial work out of the license fees paid by Lewisham Community Sports and Brockley Max to hold their events in the park.
• Peter Rankin from Envirowork Lewisham spoke about their proposals for the cricket pitch (see previous post), which were broadly welcomed.
• The gates on Eastern Road - discussion over the fact that there are lovely gates, a previous successful Friends of Hilly Fields project, but that they are rarely locked by Glendale due to issues over who has keys, Prendergast needing access etc. In addition the 'no unauthorised vehicles' sign is too small and too far up the road, so people don't notice it or ignore it. As a consequence, lots of vehicles that ought not to are getting on to the park and it also leads to other problems such as fly-tippping.
• Dog-fouling: those present at the meeting suggested it was time for some concerted action on this, not just by Council officers, but more of a community effort, and maybe to have another day of putting flags next to all the dog muck, so dog owners (the irresponsible minority of them, that is) could appreciate the cumulatie effect of not clearing up after their mutt.
  

All in all, a very useful meeting, with lots of things to follow up on.

New notice board for cemeteries group

The new notice board for the FOBLC (Friends of Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries) is now up at the Ladywell Road end of the cemeteries, and looking very smart. This is one of the items funded by last year's localities fund. Ute has just posted details of bids for this year's fund, and how you can have your say. (I'm cheating and pre-dating this post by an hour or so, in order for the poll post to stay at the top for a while!).

On the downside, this smart new notice board makes the various council ones at the Ladywell end of the cemetery look a bit tatty now. Given that the Council also now needs to advertise the changes the new dog control orders (which come into force this Monday) mean for the cemeteries (dogs allowed on leads), and there is probably a case for a bit of rationalisation of the various council signs into one, with opening times, dog restrictions, contact details, etc all on one good quality sign.

On a slight tangent, one of the various notices currently at the entrance to the cemeteries says 'no cycling'. What do readers think about this? Personally, I think that we should open up the entrance on Brockley Road (by Brockley Primary School) and encourage considerate cyclists to use the cemeteries. We could potentially draw in some funding to resurface one of the footpaths if it was also a designated cycle path. It could provide a useful alternative to get from Ladywell to Brockley avoiding the main roads and in my opinion, as long as cyclists are considerate of other cemetery users, the more people we have using the cemeteries, the better, as it will help improve security there.

I always think it's a bit unfair that cars are allowed into the cemetery but that cyclists have to dismount. I can understand the need for those with mobility problems or carrying tools to tend graves to park near their graves, but don't see why those on bikes shouldn't be able to do the same. What do others think?

Dog Awareness Day in Ladywell Ward

Mike, Ute and I popped along to see the animal welfare team, Battersea Dogs home staff and Ladywell Safer Neighbourhood Team in action today, at the free dog microchipping day on Hilly Fields Crescent. When we got there, only about a dozen dogs had been chipped so far, which is somewhat less than the 30-5o dogs they normally expect on these afternoons, but more arrived, including two chihauhaus who looked very warily at the officers, as it they knew what was coming next. One owner brought along her dog who was chipped in Spain - they checked his chip and gave her the code so she could get the address changed on Petlog (so if he does get lost, he won't get sent back to Spain!).

As well as the microchipping, there was information about the work of the animal welfare team, advice available on dealing with animal behaviour problems as well as free name tags and dog poo bags. Lewisham has the second highest level of abandoned or lost dogs in London, with about 6 dogs a week abandoned and sent to Battersea Dogs' Home. These days are undoubtedly a useful way of raising awareness, but as with many things, to a large extent it is the responsible owners who bring their dogs along, and perhaps it doesn't reach those who need a bit of guidance most.

Dog Control Order Consultation

I mentioned in my earlier post about dogs, that a Lewisham Council consultation on dog control orders would be out soon. It is now available online. New legislation, under Section 55 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (2005), will give local authorities extra powers to take action and enforcement against dog owners who do not comply with new rules.

Lewisham Council wants to introduce new enforcement powers that will enable it to take action against people who act irresponsibly by not controlling their dogs, or by allowing them to foul our footpaths and green spaces. It is hoped that the introduction of the Dog Control Order Act, which carries a £75 on-the-spot fine, will enable the Council to deal with irresponsible dog owners far more effectively.

Proposed offences that will attract an on-the-spot fine are:

• Failing to remove dog faeces
• Not keeping a dog on a lead in designated areas (these will be sign-posted in public areas)
• Not putting, and keeping, a dog on a lead when directed to do so by an authorised officer
• Permitting a dog to enter land from which dogs are excluded
• Taking more than a specified number of dogs onto land.

The issue that has proved controversial for Friends of Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries is the proposal to allow owners to walk their dogs on leads in the cemeteries, whereas they are currently banned, although this policy is often flouted and not enforced. And of course Lewisham does only have two animal welfare officers to cover the entire borough, which while more than other London boroughs, leaves them rather stretch and with limited capacity to enforce the legislation.

Anyway, the public consultation period runs from Monday 13 October to Friday 14 November. Members of the public who wish to comment can complete the online survey, call 020 8314 7171 or email for more information.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Tess Daley from Gordonbrock Primary School, and Nicole St Lewis from Prendergast Hilly Fields school, who won the “Bag it and Bin it” competition to design posters to remind people to clean up after their dog. Their winning entries, which were picked from 85 entries from across the borough were enlarged and put up on the sides of two refuse trucks. Glad to see Ladywell ward schools take a 'clean sweep' on this!

Free Dog Micro-chipping this Saturday (11th October)

Further to my earlier post on dogs which mentioned BARK, please see below for details from the Council's Communications team of an event to formally launch Lewisham's version of the scheme:

Free dog micro-chipping : Saturday 11 October 2008

To mark the launch of BARK - Borough Action for Responsible K9’s – a free dog micro-chipping and information event is being held on Saturday 11 October.

BARK aims to encourage responsible dog ownership in the borough and is a joint project organised by Lewisham Council, the RSPCA and Battersea Cats and Dogs Home.

The numbers of stray dogs being reported continues to rise each year. One way of finding a lost four-legged friend more quickly and easily is to have it microchipped. Microchipping is a safe, permanent form of ID that can help to reunite owners with their dogs should they become lost or stolen.

The microchipping session is on Saturday, 11 October from 10.00am to 3.00pm at:

Wearside Service Centre
Wearside Road
Lewisham
SE13 7EZ

Pre-booking for micro-chipping is essential. It is not possible to safely accommodate large numbers of dogs and their owners in one space at the same time. Dog owners wanting to bring their dogs along must call 020 8314 2098 for an appointment.

The event is open to Lewisham residents only. Residents – or rather their dogs! – will also get a free engraved tag as well as the micro-chip.

Residents can bring as many dogs as they like but do need to make an appointment first. Residents are asked to bring proof of pet ownership wherever possible, such as a vet card or bill, or pedigree papers. Proof of living in the borough is also necessary, e.g. Council Tax statement or utility bill.

Staff will also be on hand to give information and advice about responsible dog ownership.

UPDATED on 7th October to insert the all-important word 'responsible' before dog ownership in the Council's press release - thanks to Zoe for pointing out that omission to me!

The New Knife on the Street?

I've been meaning to post about an interesting fringe I attended at Green Party Conference last week, with speakers from the RSPCA and a sergeant from the Met Police's dog support unit.

A lot of what they said rang true and reflected concerns raised by local residents in Ladywell and Brockley. They talked about the increasing number of 'status dogs', in particular the issue of people having dogs to bolster their 'tough' image, designed to impress or scare other people. In some cases, of course, people have these dogs to make themselves feel safer, a bit like those who carry knives mistakenly do.

The RSPCA officer also talked about the shortfalls she saw in the current Dangerous Dogs legislation and what changes she felt were needed to make it more effective. The RSPCA is arguing that the emphasis should be on 'the deed rather than the breed' and on irresponsible dog owners. They are also arguing that Police Forces need more resources to deal with the increase in incidents involving dangerous dogs, as well as more easily enforceable legislation.

Apparently there are more pitbulls in the UK now than there were when the Dangerous Dogs Act came into force and the most commonly abandoned breed of dog at Battersea Dogs Home and elsewhere now is the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, as owners who think they are getting a 'hard' dog get disgruntled when they find out that it is actually a bit of a softie who likes to roll over and get its stomach tickled.

Worryingly, there has been a huge increase in the number of incidents of anti-social behaviour involving dogs in London over the past few years. Between 2002-2005 there were an average of 42 seizures of dogs a year. In 2006 this jumped to 173 and then more than doubled in 2007 at 481 seizures a year. Since 1st April this year there have already been more than 280 dogs seized by the 20 qualified dog handlers working for the police across London.

There has been a big increase in backstreet breeding, with horrific cases of 30 or more pitbull puppies being found in cages in tiny flats. There has also been an increase in chain fighting, where owners encourage their dogs to fight with other dogs while on a lead, as well as organised dog fighting, and ring barking, where dogs are trained by tearing the bark off trees, which can kill the tree. There has also been an increase in the number of dogs being used to protect criminal assets. The police officer also talked about the number of people trying to take dogs to festivals, such as the Notting Hill Carnival.

The police are struggling to cope with the increased workload they have and the extra kennelling fees they accrue from all the extra dog seizures. Many Councils have insufficient animal welfare officers to deal with the situation. Lewisham, with two animal welfare officers, is apparently better staffed than other boroughs, but still over-stretched, with the vast majority of their time spent dealing with stray dogs, which leaves little time for awareness-raising or enforcement action against irresponsible dog owners.

However, Lewisham may soon benefit from joining the BARK scheme (Borough Action for responsible K9s - yes, someone had fun coming up with that acronym), which was piloted with succcess in Brent. The RSPCA officer also said that they could come and do an Community Animal Action Week (CAAW) in the area, which they run in conjunction with local Safer Neighbourhood Teams and housing associations. As well as offering advice to residents on looking after their dogs, they also offer free microchipping and neutering of pets.

It is certainly an issue that needs to be monitored closely in Lewisham and action take where appropriate. I know that in Ladywell people have raised a number of concerns about dogs, ranging from irresponsible owners who don't clean up after their dog has fouled and dogs that are not kept under control in public spaces. There have been a number of appalling incidents in and around Algernon Road, where 4 pet cats have been mauled to death by dogs in the past 18 months, in some cases with the dog owners watching.