Professional dog walking licenses scheme for park

A popular park on the Surrey-London border is to introduce a licensing scheme for professional dog walkers who want to use it.

Nonsuch Park in Epsom is administered by a joint management committee run by Epsom and Ewell Borough Council and the London Borough of Sutton.

From April 2025 commercial dog walkers will have to pay an annual fee of £200 and will be limited to six dogs at a time.

The scheme is being introduced as a 12-month pilot and follows a public consultation.

Professional dog walkers will have to provide proof of public liability insurance and risk assessments.

There are also plans to introduce a code of conduct.

It follows a decision to introduce a similar scheme by Reigate and Banstead District Council.

Epsom and Ewell councillor Julian Freeman, who previously chaired the joint management committee, said: “With feedback from almost 1,000 people, including commercial dog walkers using the park already, it is clear that this is an important issue to many people.”

Current chair Louise Phelan, a Sutton councillor, said: “We know that the professional dog walkers who visit Nonsuch Park take the responsibility of walking multiple dogs in a public area extremely seriously and support the introduction of a licensing scheme that helps protect the reputation and standards of their profession.”

“We hope the subsequent licensing scheme will go some way to create an open space which everyone can enjoy.”

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