Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC) has been working closely with Highways England to ensure the A23 is as clear of litter as possible.

MSDC is responsible for removing litter from road verges throughout the district. However, the high speed nature of the A23 and the volume of traffic make this almost impossible to do safely without at least part of the road being closed. Therefore, we have agreed with Highways England and their contractor A one + that trained litter pickers from MSDC’s waste contractors Serco can join their planned night time road closures to help clear the A23 of litter.

“So far our staff have safely joined 49 night closures, which has resulted in the collection of over nine and a half tonnes of discarded waste” explained Gary Marsh MSDC Cabinet Member for Service Delivery. “This includes ordinary litter as well as tyres, discarded road signs and A frames.

“Litter that’s left thrown onto the roadside looks appalling and the people who are responsible should be ashamed of themselves. Throwing litter out the window of your car is completely anti-social, spoils the environment for everyone, and causes huge problems when it comes to cleaning up the mess.

“To prevent litter in the first place would help save taxpayers some of the £18,000 that MSDC has recently had to spend clearing the A23. Simple suggestions such as thinking before you throw, bag and bin it or using one of the accessible welfare facilities or service stations along the A23 will help restrict the amount of dangerous work that our contractors have to endure.

“Further, when towing trailers please make sure that all items are secure and that nothing is able to escape onto the carriageway”.

MSDC will continue to do all we can to work towards keeping the A23 as clear as possible of litter and we would ask the Mid Sussex community to help us in this cause.

Dog control measures in Mid Sussex are set to be updated today (Tuesday 17 October) as Public Spaces Protection Orders replace the existing legislation.

Mid Sussex currently uses Dog Control Orders to protect the local environment and deter irresponsible dog ownership. However, they are due to expire later this year and Mid Sussex District Council is replacing them with Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs).

The new Public Spaces Protection Orders will be implemented from 17 October 2017 under legislation in the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

The Council conducted a six week public consultation on the change and is now transferring its existing powers under the Dog Control Orders over to the new PSPOs. The only amendments are; the number of dogs that one person can walk at a Council Nature Reserve will be restricted to six and Hearing Dogs have been added to the list of dogs allowed in excluded areas, as suggested by the Kennel Club.

The majority of dog owners in Mid Sussex are responsible, pick up their dogs’ mess and keep them under proper control. However, there is a small minority who don’t and this can create problems. The Public Spaces Protection Orders enable fixed penalty notices to be issued by an authorised officer when they see an offence occur. These are set at £75 or £50 if paid within 10 days.

The new Public Spaces Protection Orders will cover:

•    Dog Fouling

In order to reduce the amount of dog fouling in Mid Sussex, people having charge and control of dogs are required to clean up their dogs’ mess. This order is applied to any land which is open to the air and to which the public have access.

•    Dog Exclusion

To prevent people or the dogs themselves being injured as a result of sharing activity space, dogs are excluded from all fenced children’s play areas and fenced recreational areas such as tennis courts, bowling greens and multi activity areas owned by Mid Sussex District Council.

•    Dogs on Lead by Direction

In order to stop a loose dog disrupting sporting or community events or disturbing local wildlife, dogs must be placed on a lead if requested to do so by an authorised officer. This order applies to Mid Sussex District Council owned land on which formal sports and community events regularly take place, and all designated nature reserves.

•    Dogs Specified Maximum Amount (6)

The number of dogs one person can take onto Council owned Nature Reserves or selected large parks is restricted to six.

Residents are encouraged to report any dog control offences to the Mid Sussex District Council Park Ranger Team on 01444 477561 or by emailing rangers@midsussex.gov.uk. It is important to provide as much detail as possible about the incident, including the time, location and description of the dog(s) and dog walker so that the rangers can target their patrols effectively and deal with the issues.