Your correspondent, A Foster (Letters, February 11) seems not to be in full command of the facts in complaints about dog mess, suggesting a return to three-party politics would break the “stranglehold”

Tendring First has on the district council and therefore solve the problem.

Firstly, the politics – Tendring First holds ten out of 60 seats on Tendring Council, although it has worked in partnership with the Labour, Liberal Democrat and Independent groups.

Scarcely a stranglehold.

Secondly, the Conservatives (one of A Foster’s “larger political parties”) are in charge of Tendring Council, and have been since May 2009. They are the people who are responsible for ensuring care for our environment and having adequate by-laws to control dogs or their owners.

However, I am not going to criticise them, because it is undoubtedly a problem any political adminstration would struggle with, if only given the limitations on “snooping” the Government is introducing.

Over the past several years, Tendring Council has tried to manage the problem in a number of ways, such as increasing the number of officials (as well as PCSOs) authorised to issue penalty notices for dog-fouling and by providing dog-free’ and free-dog zones, so owners and nonowners can enjoy our amenities equally.

Allowing use of all our 1,000 litter-bins (plus 250 dog-bins) for wrapped dogmess was another initiative to combat this problem.

We also have had campaigns to target serial offenders (the humans, not the dogs) and we support national efforts, such as by Bill Bryson in your Letters page two years ago, to keep our lovely district free of (all types of) litter.

My message then and my message now (as a dog owner myself) is to the few who give the many a bad name – if you or your dog brought it with you, please take it home with you.

We don’t want it on our streets, beaches or in our parks and green spaces.

David Lines
Leader
Tendring First Group
Tendring Council
Fourth Avenue
Frinton