THE proposed banning orders being considered by the Oxford City Council concerning mooring and boats has prompted Bill Ridgeway to write:
'The PSPO covering the waterways in the city include both the Oxford Canal and the Thames, banning people from mooring boats without permission, erecting structures, obstructing towpaths, leaving rubbish and even regulating the number of dogs that can be walked on the towpath at any one time.'
Can be identified
The perpetrators of mooring boats without permission, erecting structures, obstructing towpaths and leaving rubbish may, with a bit of investigation, be identified and processed.
However, regulating the number of dogs that can be walked on the towpath at anyone time is an interesting challenge. It does not say all towpaths within the jurisdiction of Oxford City Council but neither does it define any particular distance of a towpath. Even if it did specify a particular distance how would anyone know the number of 'dogs in section' and when one exited creating a vacancy? The number of questions are endless. This a good example of bad legislation which cannot realistically be policed.