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Dog Nuisances.
Since 1921 the Council have operated in Kensington a byelaw
to prevent the fouling of public footpaths by dogs. The
present form of the byelaw is as follows:-
(1) No person being in charge of a dog shall allow
the dog to foul the footway of any street
or public place by depositing its excrement
thereon.
Provided that a person shall not be liable to
be convicted of an offence against this
byelaw, if he satisfies the Court that the
fouling of the footway by the dog was not
due to culpable neglect or default on his
part.
(2) For the purposes of this byelaw the owner of
the dog shall be deemed to be in charge
thereof, unless the Court is satisfied that
at the time when the dog fouled the footway
it had been placed in or taken into the
charge of some other person.
(3) Any person offending against this byelaw shall
be liable on summary conviction to a fine
not exceeding five pounds.
Since the byelaw first came into operation, the Council
have obtained more than 300 convictions, but despite this
the number of complaints of nuisances by dogs was considerable.
In 1949 the Council decided to intensify their efforts
to secure reasonable cleanliness of pavements and included in
the measures taken were :-
(1) The display of a special poster, designed by
Councillor Ian Harvey, M.P., on dustbins,
sandbins and other suitable places;
(2) The distribution of special handbills, also
designed by Councillor Ian Harvey, M.P., and
"fly-posting" slips;
(3) Practical public demonstrations by the Canine
Defence League of the training of dogs;
(4) Local shop window displays and press announcements,
combined with a simple dog-competition for members
of the public. The prizes for the competition
were given free of charge to the Council by
commercial firms; and
(5) Fixing of permanent dog nuisance warning notices
on lamp posts.
Vacant, Derelict and Bombed Sites.
The problem of dealing with vacant, derelict and bombed
sites continued to present difficulties during the year, mainly
owing to the fact that these sites are used as dumping grounds
for rubbish. In an attempt to deal with this nuisance, the
Council on the 4th October, 1949, made the following byelaw,
which has now been confirmed by the Home Secretary and came into
operation on 1st January, 1950:-