A Gillingham councillor is starting a campaign to highlight the issue of dog fouling in the town.

Councillor Mark Walden, a dog owner himself, is looking to gather the views of local people about the problem and any potential solutions.

The councillor says that the issue has been exacerbated after the Covid lockdowns when many people forced to work from home got dogs for the first time; nationally some 3.2 million households acquired pets during that period, many of them dogs.

Often people will be looking after dogs for the first time.

‘So dog fouling as an issue is only going to get worse,’ says Councillor Walden, who also works for Agria Pet Insurance.

He points to concern about dog poo in the centre of the town. ‘We’ve recently had the Town Meadow Group considering options of tighter controls and surveillance with the possibility of banning dogs altogether. Whilst the consideration frustrates me, I can understand their stance considering how popular it is with our youth and public events.’

Councillor Walden added: ‘I want to conduct a local campaign to highlight the problem with dog poo we’re constantly having within the town. As the evenings are getting darker now, I want to highlight this ever growing issue and how much this impacts our local community.

‘As a dog owner myself, I’m disappointed to see the irresponsible few giving the rest of us a bad name.’

Councillor Walden, who is acting on behalf of the town council, wants a ‘community approach’ to the issue and is keen to hear the views of local residents.

Anyone wanting to give their views can fill in a quick online survey that Councillor Walden has compiled and which can be found here.