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The days of taking stray dogs to a police station during weekends and evenings will soon be over. From Sunday 6 April 2008, Spelthorne will be working in partnership with Runnymede and Elmbridge to meet the new national legislation that applies to all local authorities in England, as part of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.
This change in the legislation passes the responsibility of providing temporary kennels for stray dogs outside of normal office hours from the police to local authorities.
Spelthorne’s contractor collects 25 to 30 stray dogs in the Borough each year. By working in partnership, a cost effective service can be provided across all the boroughs.
Alan Jones, Spelthorne’s Environmental Health Manager, said:
“Spelthorne welcomes the opportunity to work in partnership with Runnymede and Elmbridge, as the alternative option to provide our own reception facilities for strays out of normal office hours would have been considerably more expensive for our residents. To meet the terms of the new legislation, stray dogs that need to be kennelled overnight can now be housed at the purposely built kennels provided by Runnymede Borough Council. During normal office hours, our residents should still contact Spelthorne Council if they find a stray and the council contractor will arrange to collect the dog as usual. “
Cllr Gerry Forsbrey, Portfolio Holder for Environment, said:
“This is one more service that we as a council have to supply which is being imposed on as by the government. I am of course delighted that we have gone into partnership with Runnymede, so that we can provide a first class service, at a reasonable cost to our residents out of hours.”
Although the police will no longer be responsible for handling strays, they retain responsibility for dealing with dangerous dogs
The Contact numbers for the three Councils are:
Spelthorne – day or night, tel 01784 451499.
Runnymede – day tel 01932 838383.
Elmbridge – day tel 01372 474750.
For further information please ring 01784 446297
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