Worthing and Adur Council’s Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) will change in December 2025 from PSPO (on Leads) to PSPO (No Dogs). This blog post gives the relevant background information to this.
On Saturday 3rd August 2024 a member of the public visited the Cemetery. His dog was on a lead, complying with the On Leads PSPO. During that visit, the dog managed to slip its lead and started chasing foxes or fox cubs deep in an area of scrub.
In the following days, the absence of one of the vixens was noted. A strong smell of rotting flesh was noticeable in the scrub in the north-west section. The vixen was never seen again.
Volunteers present at the time were concerned about the fox and about the welfare of themselves and other volunteers. The dog had evidently evaded its owner’s control and had run amok. How safe might they be from other, even more aggressive dogs?
The matter was discussed at the AGM of the Friends of Heene Cemetery, held on 5th October 2024. With its single point of entry and high surrounding walls, the Cemetery is not a good place to find oneself in the company of an unmanaged dangerous dog. The potential risk to the public, to volunteers and to wildlife was self-evident.
A vote was taken about asking the Council to apply a No Dogs Order: 14 members voted to request a ban, all others abstained. The Committee agreed to write to the Council. It was noted that Brighton and Lancing Councils already had No Dogs PSPOs in place.
Following the request made on behalf of FoHC, the Council opened an online, six-week, public consultation about this proposed change – and others along the Adur Valley. By the time it closed, a substantial majority of respondents had expressed support for a No Dogs PSPO.
When this came before Adur & Worthing Council at the beginning of October 2025, the Joint Strategic Committee voted unanimously in favour of applying a No Dogs PSPO at Heene Cemetery. The Joint Strategic Committee added that making the Cemetery a dog exclusion zone aligned with the site’s status as a Local Wildlife Site. The order, coming into force in December, they added, “is expected to benefit surrounding wildlife, including foxes, birds and hedgehogs”.
Written by Rob and Jane Tomlinson