Dog fouling was one of the three priorities identified by residents in the neighbourhood survey which was done by Thames Valley Police as part of setting up the Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) in 2008. (The other two were speeding and inconsiderate parking.)
Dog fouling is not only unpleasant for residents but it can contain worms which cause serious eye disorders for adults and children.
The NAG, which also covers Hanslope and Haversham, has used part of its funding to buy and install dog bins in the three villages. At the same time, the parish councils have committed to have these emptied regularly which has to be done by a specialist contractor.
There are three dog bins in Castlethorpe; one by the entrance to Castle Field opposite the shop, one on South Street next to the gate to the footbridge and one outside the school where there had been quite a lot of dog mess – young children are particularly vulnerable to getting the eye disorders.
PLEASE PICK UP AFTER YOUR DOG & PUT THE BAG IN THE DOG BINS. DO NOT TAKE DOGS ONTO THE SPORTS GROUND – USE THE FENCED FOOTPATHS AT EITHER END.
Milton Keynes Council wardens, who are working with the NAG, will also be in the villages and will issue fixed penalty notices to dog owners who do not clear up after their dogs as required under the ‘Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996’. The penalties are £50 under a fixed penalty notice and up to £1000 if taken to court.
However, let’s use the new dog bins and keep our village clean and safe for our children.
Community Speed Watch is a joint initiative by the Milton Keynes rural Neighbourhood Action Groups including Rural West to which Castlethorpe belongs.
Its objective is to deter speeding in our village.
Community Speed Watch is operated by trained volunteers and a police representative, either our local PC, Andy Perry, or one of the PCSO team, will always be in attendance.
The device is mounted on a tripod next to the road in 30mph or 40mph areas. The volunteers have a small handheld ‘reader’ which tells them the speed of passing vehicles. If a vehicle is speeding, a note is made of the licence number and other details and, at the end of the day, these are passed to Thames Valley Police.
Warning letters will be sent by TVP to offending drivers but CSW is not used as a basis for prosecution. However, if a particular vehicle is found to be speeding regularly or an area is shown to be subject to a lot of speeding, then CSW can be used as a basis for further police or other action.
Details of the Neighbourhood Action Group can be found by following this link
The Rural West Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) has been concerned about a number of parking problems and has asked that Thames Valley Police take some action.
Patients are asked not to park on the road opposite the surgery as this causes an obstruction especially if the vehicle is parked partially on the pavement.
If the surgery car park is full, Hanslope Parish Council has made the car park at the Recreation Ground available which is only 200m away.
