Dog Poo Issues at Grassy Beach

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Dog walkers on Grassy Beach have drawn my attention to a damaged lid on a dog poo bin located beside the coastal pathway between Douglas Terrace and Grassy Beach.  This particular bin is close to the foot of the steps up to the footbridge over the railway which connects with the pathway that leads to Beach Lane.

It looks as though the lid has been eaten away by rust. Whatever the cause, the gaping lid does not do its job.

While I have drawn this to the attention of the Environment Department, I also want to appeal to all dog owners to clean up after their dogs and use the bins. Within three metres of this bin, there are six dog poos left on the grass and one filled dog poo bag carelessly dumped on the ground.

Update on Dog Fouling in The Ferry - Not the Bob Servant Solution

My recent press coverage about shortages in the supply of the Council's free dog poo bags resulted in many follow up conversations with folk in Broughty Ferry and beyond. For some responsible dog owners, it's the shortage of dog bins in certain locations such as Ferryfields and Central Broughty Ferry which is the issue. I have taken this up with the Environment Department. For others, it is concern about the irresponsible dog owners who, despite the bags and bins from the Council, don't clean up after their dogs. 

Dog owners can be reassured that I am not about to take the approach adopted by Bob Servant the Independent Candidate in the Broughty Ferry parliamentary by-election. By the way it's screening on BBC4 and BBC2 Scotland from later this week. In a telephone phone-in on the local radio station, he advocates banning all dogs from Dawson Park.

But seriously, I would like to see some fixed penalty fines being issued to errant owners who don't clean up after their dogs. The Council has these powers, but rarely seems to make use of these. This might make dog walkers think twice about not cleaning up after their dogs.

On a more positive note, I was notified about Dog Training Classes that run at the Brooksbank Community Centre on Pitairlie Road. They provide dog training to around 80 dog owners and their dogs every week. Monday night 6 - 7pm is for Puppies and 7 - 8pm is for Adult Dogs. These classes are repeated on Saturday mornings 10 - 11am and 11 - 12am £5 per week Concessions £3.  Brooksbank Centre, Pitairlie Road, Dundee DD4 8DG. Phone:  01382 432450

More Dog Bins Requested in Ferryfields

Just before new year, in a blog posting and the associated press coverage, I highlighted concerns about the repeated shortage of the Council's free dog poop bags at collection points in Broughty Ferry.

In response, I have been contacted by some constituents in Ferryfields who wanted me to recognise that in their area the most pressing shortage was a lack of dog poo bins.

More specifically, they pointed out that currently Ferryfields (north of the Arbroath Road) only has two dog bins for the entire estate and really requires at least another two particularly on the access road as some dog owners simply drop bags when used. 

Furthermore, they observe that the access road side walks do not appear to be looked after by anyone and they think this should be a Council responsibility. 

They also drew a comparison between their new housing estate and the Sandy Park Children's play area on the opposite side of Abroath Road in East Balgillo. In the vicinity of the Sandy Park, they observed five or six dog bins alone. More than reasonably therefore, they conclude that there is a shortage of dog bins in Ferryfields. They think they have a good case for obtaining more bins for their development and I agree.

I have raised this shortage of dog bins in Ferryfields with the Environment Department.