A row over land ownership has broken out amid attempts by a town council to opt out of new dog fouling measures.

As Shotton Town Council bids to have the 33 Club playing fields on Shotton Lane removed from a new local authority public space protection order (PSPO), the rightful owner of the land is in dispute.

Members of the town council told their February meeting they believed it had been gifted to the town many years ago but a letter from Andrew Farrow, Flintshire Council chief officer for planning environment, said Flintshire Council owns the land.

Shotton wants to opt out of the new PSPO enforced from October 20, 2017 which bans the walking of dogs on marked football and rugby pitches.

The order allows Flintshire Council to enforce the complete exclusion of dogs from a defined area or keeping dogs on leads in certain open spaces at all times, such as cemeteries, children’s play areas and other formal recreation areas.

Some pet owners in Shotton told the Leader last year they were subject to verbal abuse while out walking their dogs at the 33 Club playing fields.

Mr Farrow's letter to Cllr Dave Evans, who has led the charge to opt out, said relaxing the prohibitions would be “problematic in terms of enforcement of the PSPO and legal challenges in court to fixed penalty notices, so the council must take a consistent approach and enforce the prohibitions of the PSPO in their entirety on public land within its
ownership”.

Cllr Evans said he had been told the land belonged to Shotton and it had been maintained by the town council as a result, while council vice-chairman Gary Cooper said Shotton had leased the land “for donkey's years”.

Gerwyn Davies, Flintshire Council anti-social behavioural co-ordinator, said he was initially told that the land was local authority-owned and leased it to Shotton.

Harvey Mitchell, Flintshire Council Streetscene manager, said regardless of land ownership, Shotton could not just “pick and choose” elements of the PSPO.

He said: “When the PSPO came out, you didn’t opt out then. You either opt out entirely or take everything that comes with it.”

Mr Mitchell told councillors he hoped to help them resolve the matter of ownership and members agreed to revisit the subject of the PSPO in March.