Andrew Balfour, Local Democracy Reporter

Causeway Coast and Glens Council has confirmed new dog fouling enforcement officers will be deployed across the borough within the next two months.

Last November members of council’s Environmental Services Committee approved a contract for new dog fouling enforcement officers, and at February’s Committee meeting Alliance councillor Lee Kane put forward a proposal asking for an update on “the enforcement of dog fouling and littering legislation across the borough”.

Councillor Kane said he submitted the proposal due to “an increasing number of calls and reports on the issue of dog fouling”, specifically at Cloughmills.

“It has been a bit of a hotspot area for some time,” he said. “And over the weekend there was [also] a lot of discussion around the pavements in Ballymoney town centre.

“I was in [Ballymoney] town on Saturday afternoon (February 6), I walked down the High Street and counted 17 cases of dog fouling.

“There were lots of people out getting shopping and it was really great to see, but the number of people trying to avoid dog fouling was really quite concerning.”

Councillor Kane said he has since received complaints about several Ballymoney streets, while council signs around the issue are often outdated.

“I don’t think, three years ago, I realised that the bowel movements of dogs was going to take up so much of my time,” he added. “Obviously we’re still in the dark nights [and] mornings, but there has been a real increase in the last three weeks of dog fouling.”

Director of Environmental Services, Aidan McPeake, said council is currently agreeing a Service Level Agreement (SVA) with the contractor, and while there is no prospective start date he hopes both contractor and staff will be appointed in six to eight weeks.

“Hopefully they’ll be in a position to look at those hotspots,” he concluded. “We’re already starting to gather data on where patrols are to first take place, based on complaints we’ve received so far.

“At this time of the year, with dark evenings and mornings and wet weather, it’s difficult to catch offenders, but I have no doubt that when we have this new contract in place that will improve considerably.”