Overton Parish Council has now received answers to the questions submitted by residents to Lancaster City Council Dog Wardens. Below is the email response we received.

I have tried to answer the questions below, but as a general rule, our objective is to work with the owners of licensed establishments to ensure standards are maintained. Where problems are identified, they will be investigated and hopefully improved.

Where our investigations identify serious failings, or if a licence holder fails to work with our officers to comply with the licensing requirements, then enforcement action will be taken.

If residents have problems with licensed establishments, then I would encourage them to report the issues so that they can be investigated.

Why is it that noise/neighbours are not taken into consideration/consulted when approving a breeding licence?

And

When issuing a licence to a breeder, what consideration is given to potential noise from kennels? Is Planning consulted? Is planning permission required for external kennelling? How do we, as residents, know how many dogs will be involved in the business?

And

What checks take place regarding a planning/conservation when a licence is requested on a property that sits in a conservation area?

Potential noise and neighbourhood issues would be considered at the planning stage, and if a kennel was operating without proper planning permission, action would fall under planning legislation.

Animal Licensing Regulations do not take into consideration whether the premises has planning permission, so no consultation with local residents is required and a licence could not be refused on these grounds.

The number of dogs involved in the business will be detailed on the licence. There are space and staff ratio requirements to control numbers, so a kennel would be investigated if it was operating outside its licensing requirements .

Any problems with noise or nuisance can be reported to Environmental Health and will be investigated. Noise and nuisance complaints may also be indicators of animal welfare issues so this would also be investigated.

Is it possible for one person to operate a licence with over 40 dogs and obtain a 5-star rating on their licence when government guidelines show a 1 in 10 ratio for 5-stars.

There are requirements on the ratio of staff to dogs. A 5 star licence would not be issued to an establishment operated by 1 person with over 40 dogs. If such a complaint was received about a licenced property operating that way it would be investigated accordingly and there would also be the risk of having a licence revoked, or star rating reduced.

If someone was to be convicted of noise nuisance from dogs in a court of law, would you consider removing the licence or not renew after expiry?

As part of the fit and proper person test, any previous convictions would be considered when issuing a licence. A conviction for noise nuisance may also raise concerns about animal welfare so the premises would be investigated accordingly. The facts of each individual case would have to be considered.

If someone was to have their breeding licence removed, what does that mean in real world terms?

Revocation of a licence is rare and only done in serious cases. Revocations are decided by Committee, and there is an independent right of appeal to the First Tier Tribunal. If a person has their licence removed / revoked it means they can no longer operate that licensable activity legally.

Can we obtain a copy of the breeding licence application/score sheet/marking paper?

Animal Activities Licensing - Lancaster City Council

Copies of application forms and conditions are available on the Council’s website.

What information can be provided regarding danger to human/animal health from dog fouling? How do we report owners not cleaning up?

Dog fouling - Lancaster City Council

Information can be found on the Lancaster City Council website.

Following a recent vicious dog attack in Lancaster, and the concerns raised on social media regarding lack of response from the dog warden, what actions should be taken if a similar occurrence happened in our village?

Police deal with dog on person attacks and the Dog Wardens deal with dog on dog attacks, these should be reported todogwardens@lancaster.gov.uk or 01524 582935 as soon as possible.

Dog on dog attacks will be investigated and action taken according to the evidence. Unfortunately reports on social media don’t always reflect what has actually happened.