Hi all,
Does anybody have any ideas about what can be done about the amount of dogs mess on the pavements in this area. I recently moved to Forest Hill (May 2011) I lived in Balham previously, which is in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was like a culture shock when I moved to this area and started seeing dogs mess almost everywhere on every street. There was nothing like that in Balham as Wandsworth had a very good dog patrol, which meant the street were free of dogs mess. I find it very distressing, especially when it happens right outside of my front gate. Of course you'll never catch the dog or its owner. I've seen pictures of dogs drawn on street corners and from what I understand this is where the dogs are supposed to do their poo and then have it cleaned up by their owner. This is totally ineffective. This is the one thing that spoils my enjoyment of an otherwise lovely area. What does anyone else think?

Totally agree. It's a disgrace in SE23. Write to your local counsillor! I've written to Jackie Addison about this issue.

Yes the problem is terrible. You can report it to Lewisham Council.
Go to the website and click on Environment and then Street Cleaning and then there is a section called Animal Fouling.
Not sure how much good it actually does but I guess it's better than doing nothing! Welcome to the SE23 by the way!

I thought the rather attractive* 'yellow squatting dog' demonstrated that mess had been cleaned up by whatever department/team are tasked with such things - it's supposed to shame dog owners into feeling embarrassed enough to change their ways.
I doubt non responsible dog owners will be bothered by it.

*that bit was a joke!

http://www.se23.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=5315

http://www.se23.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=4139

Previous threads on dog mess.

It's particularly bad around Shipman Rd and the six or so streets that run off it. Unenforceable legislation - dontcha just love it?

Probably worth clarifying where (specifically) you're talking about. These problems tend to be very localised - I'd guess on the regular route of someone who walks their dog and isn't bothered about cleaning up.

If there's a bad problem in a specific area, the council will help. Google for "Love Lewisham" and you'll see how you can report these sorts of things - they even have smartphone apps.