Public Space Protection Orders and byelaws

All of our parks and open spaces are covered by Public Space Protection Orders and formal byelaws. These are to help us reduce antisocial behaviour and breaches of our dog control orders.

• Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs)
• Enforcement
• Safety in parks
• Dog control
• Public Spaces Injunction
• Byelaws 

Public Space Protection Orders

As of 16 October 2017, all parks and open spaces are controlled by Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) and lasted for a period of three years. These orders impose various restrictions to dog control and antisocial activities in our parks and open spaces to ensure that public spaces are safe and enjoyable for everyone to use. This was then extended from 22 September 2020 for a further three years. The Orders were renewed on Friday 22 September 2023 for a further three years. This Order can be extended pursuant to section 60 of the Act.

Antisocial behaviour

The anti-social behaviour PSPO (pdf, 14.4MB) outlines measures and restrictions to eliminate anti-social behaviour in our parks and open spaces.

Barbecues in parks

Barbecues and open fires are not allowed in Council parks and open spaces and are in breach of our anti-social behaviour PSPO (pdf, 14.4MB).

Dog control

The Dog Control PSPO replaces our existing Dog Control Orders and includes a restriction on the number of dogs that can be walked by one person. This has now been reduced from six to four.

The professional dog walking licences have been issued in October 2023 to professional dog walkers to allow them walk up to six dogs at certain sites across the borough for a period of two years. These will be re-advertised in August 2025.

Residents with more than four dogs can apply for a resident permit to walk up to six dogs.

Reporting a dog related incident

You can report a dog related incident or issue online.

Enforcement

Our Park Patrol and Enforcement Contractor, Parkguard, patrols our parks and open spaces to enforce the orders. Fixed Penalty Notices of £80 are given for offences under the PSPO.

Failure to give an authorised Officer your name and address on request is an offence which may lead to a further fine.

If you have any concerns or queries regarding Dog Control or ASB, please contact us on 020 8891 1411 or parks@richmond.gov.uk.

You can pay or appeal an enforcement fixed penalty notice online.

Safety in parks

We work closely with the police and the Safer Neighbourhood teams as well as Parkguard who operate a high-visibility patrol service in our parks.

We have developed a Keeping safe in parks statement which can be viewed on our webpage here.

If you witness someone in the process of committing an act such as fly-tipping, causing criminal damage or another emergency in our parks, you should contact the police or relevant emergency service and provide them with as much information as possible.

You can report any other street cleaning problems, such as fly-tipping, graffiti and dog mess, to our Street Scene team.