Bromley's dog control order runs three more years from 1 October, unchanged. The cemetery ban put to residents is out: 331 of 719 who answered opposed it.

Bromley’s dog control order is being renewed for three years from 1 October 2026. Nothing in it changes.

The one change residents were asked about, moving cemeteries from the “dogs on leads” list to the “no dogs” list, is not happening. More people opposed it than backed it, and the council has left the cemeteries where they were.

The order went to the Public Protection and Enforcement Portfolio Holder on Thursday 3 September, as report ES20588 (London Borough of Bromley). The council announced the renewal the next day (Bromley Council, 4 September). No signed decision record had appeared on the council’s decision register when we checked on 6 September.

What the order actually makes an offence

A Public Spaces Protection Order is not guidance. Breaking one is a criminal offence under section 67 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Six things are caught:

  • failing to pick up after your dog
  • ignoring an authorised officer’s direction to put a dog on a lead
  • taking a dog into an exclusion area, such as a playground or a boating pond
  • letting a dog off the lead in a designated lead area
  • walking more than three dogs without a council licence
  • failing to keep a dog under proper control in a lead area

The order defines “proper control” precisely: on a lead, or muzzled if the dog needs it, or close enough to be restrained, or responding immediately to voice commands.

The cemetery question, and how it went

In June the council put one substantive change to residents. Bromley’s seven cemeteries currently sit in Schedule 3, where dogs are allowed but must be on a lead. The proposal was to move them to Schedule 2, where dogs are banned outright (Bromley Council, 29 June).

The consultation ran from 29 June to 28 July and drew 722 responses. On cemeteries, 719 people answered:

Response Number
Strongly agree 172
Somewhat agree 90
Neither agree nor disagree 126
Somewhat disagree 114
Strongly disagree 217

That is 262 in favour against 331 opposed. Officers recorded “less public support for the change”, and the final order carries no amendment. Dogs stay permitted, on a lead, at Biggin Hill, Bromley Hill, London Road, Plaistow, Chislehurst, St Lukes and St Mary Cray cemeteries.

Renewal itself was not close. Of the 722 respondents, 510 (70.6%) supported it, 122 (16.9%) did not, and 90 (12.5%) picked “don’t know”.

Dog fouling reports have risen every year

The case for renewal rests on a number the press release does not mention. Reports of dog fouling made to the council have climbed in each year of the current order.

Bar chart of dog fouling reports made to Bromley Council: 402 in 2023, 462 in 2024 and 660 in 2025
Chart by Bromley Online.

That is 1,524 reports across the three years. Over the same period the council issued 121 fixed penalty notices for breaches of the whole order, fouling included.

The council attributes part of the rise to dog ownership, which its report puts at 11 million dogs nationally in 2023 and 15.5 million in 2026.

What it costs if you are caught

  • A fixed penalty notice is £100, reduced to £80 if paid within 10 days.
  • Not paying can lead to prosecution. The offence carries a level 3 fine, currently a maximum of £1,000.
  • A licence to walk four dogs costs £200, and the council says the fee will rise with inflation but is not otherwise changing.

Replacing the signage in parks and open spaces will cost the council about £200 in total. Enforcement is carried out by council officers, by APCOA under the fixed penalty contract, and by Ward Security in the parks.

Who is exempt

The order does not apply to police dogs, or to dogs working for contractors and agencies the council has permitted. It also exempts assistance dogs. Those exemptions cover:

  • people registered blind
  • deaf people relying on a dog trained by Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
  • disabled people relying on a dog trained by a registered assistance dog charity

Where the rules bite hardest

Two schedules do the work. Schedule 2 is where dogs are banned outright:

  • equipped and unequipped playgrounds
  • enclosed sports facilities, from tennis courts to Sparrows Den golf course
  • the paddling pool at Croydon Road Recreation Ground in Beckenham
  • the boating pond at Riverside Gardens, St Mary Cray
  • waterbodies, including Kelsey Park, Keston Ponds and the Betts Park canal
  • restricted parts of several recreation grounds, mostly picnic areas

Queens Gardens on Kentish Way is the only one banned in its entirety.

Schedule 3 is where dogs must be on a lead:

  • every public highway, footpath, verge and council car park in the borough
  • the seven cemeteries
  • the allotments, of which the order lists more than fifty
  • Scadbury Park Nature Reserve
  • café seating areas at Croydon Road Recreation Ground, Kelsey Park and High Elms

What it means for you

If you walk a dog in Bromley, nothing you do on 1 October needs to change. The rules you are already under carry forward to 30 September 2029.

Three things are worth knowing anyway. The lead requirement on pavements and in car parks is borough-wide and easy to forget. The three-dog limit applies to anyone, not just professional walkers, so a family walking four dogs together needs the £200 licence. And an authorised officer can direct you to put a dog on a lead anywhere in the borough, at any time, if they judge it reasonably necessary to prevent a nuisance.

The council’s own guidance on responsible dog ownership is on its website. If you are heading to a park, our guide to things to do in Bromley lists the borough’s larger green spaces.

Sources