A lodge proprietor handed a council warning letter amid a row over canine poo has in contrast the seaside city to ‘the People’s Republic of China’.
Brendan O’Rourke runs Sunny Dee’s Holiday Apartments on the Promenade. He advised LancsLive he was handed a ‘mini ASBO’ in August final yr after being accused of not choosing up his canine’s poo outdoors his home.
He says the warning letter was based mostly on “false allegations” his canine, a Dobermann, had been leaving a large number within the alleyway behind the lodge. This letter consisted of a Community Protection Warning (CPW) issued by Lancashire Constabulary on behalf of Blackpool Council.
The warning is issued to any individuals who could also be “inflicting persistent detriment to the native space” earlier than the choice to concern a CPN, or Community Protection Notice, is made.
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For Brendan, he says he was given the letter on account of a fallout with somebody residing close by, after a police officer turned up at his home handy him the warning. Inside the CPW had been two ‘complaints’ in keeping with Brendan, the primary relating to the argument with one other resident and the second accusing him of not choosing up his canine’s poo.
Brendan advised LancsLive: “It completely infuriated me as a result of I do not. I accumulate plastic off the seaside, I’ve labored with the earlier ‘Love My Beach’ organisation that was in Blackpool. I even picked up three plenty of poo that was on the seaside final evening as a result of it irritates me because the tide was coming in.”
As a consequence, the lodge proprietor got down to problem the CPW, stating he did not depart the poo and was given the warning incorrectly.
He added: “I needed to show this maladministration towards the council, that that they had issued it inappropriately. Ultimately, in any case of those months of analysis and I’ve to say, extreme stress, I managed to do it.”
Whilst efficiently revoking the warning, Brendan was contacted by the Manifesto Club, an organisation “on the forefront of difficult the hyper-regulation of public areas”. They say this instance was the primary that they had seen of a profitable revoking, one thing Brendan needs to vary.
He stated: “The situations hooked up are extraordinarily overbearing, disproportionate and unreasonable within the circumstances. I did ask them ‘[are we] residing within the People’s Republic of China, Russia or certainly the Totalitarian Borough of Blackpool?'”
Brendan says Blackpool Council issued the CPW “with none investigation themselves” or steering from elsewhere. Describing it as a “miscarriage of justice,” he questions different warnings which were issued with out thorough proof.
“It’s simply completely outrageous that not solely is there no proof and the officer has taken the burden of proof that they consider it was my dogs,” Brendan stated. “Behind me there’s a variety of dogs that do poo within the alleyway, however I keep out of it.”
A Blackpool Council spokesperson stated: “We obtained a criticism from Mr O’Rourke in relation to a Community Protection Warning that he obtained in July 2023. The warning was issued following a request obtained by Lancashire Constabulary.
“The points raised in Mr O’ Rourke’s criticism have been totally investigated and have led to the Community Protection Warning being revoked with instant impact. We have written again to him to apologise for the errors that had been made and for the impression that it has had on him.
“We have now improved our administrative processes in relation to Community Protection Warnings to make sure a good and clear course of in future.”
