A SENIOR councillor fears the threat of a dog ban hangs over parts of the borough as a review of litter bins and street cleaning takes place across.

Cllr Chris Blakeley's comments come as council officers look at whether the bins are in appropriate locations, of sufficient capacity and type, depending on location.

The review follows termination of the Council's contract with litter and dog fouling enforcement company Kingdom Securities Ltd.

Since the enforcement contract was ended by mutual consent the authority has monitoring environmental quality across the borough.

Additional emphasis is also being placed on educating people about the impact of environmental crime such as dog fouling, according to a report due to be presented to Wirral Council's environment overview and scrutiny committee - on which Cllr Blakeley is chairman - this Monday.

It follows the decision earlier this year when the committee also asked officers to look again at proposals to introduce a public space protection order (PSPO) which would have created "dog-free zones" on sports pitches.

Cabinet member for environment and climate change, Cllr Liz Grey, said: "This is a complex issue with many competing viewpoints.

"I want to see us use the combined understanding and knowledge of our councillors and our scrutiny committees in finding the best way forward, as well as ensuring the voices of the borough's residents are heard throughout this process."

More than 7,000 residents responded to last year's widespread and detailed Council consultation on the PSPO proposal.

This was followed by a council scrutiny committee asking officers to look again at the proposals.

The report due to be presented to the scrutiny committee says Government guidelines will not allow changes to the borough's existing by-laws or new ones to be made.

The report to the council committee says the by-laws cannot be used where an alternative legal process is available.

It also highlights that the existing by-laws intended to prevent dogs from entering play areas do not cover all the borough's play areas, in part because some have been constructed since the laws were introduced.

In addition the existing by-laws do not allow dogs to be taken into cemeteries.

According to the report this can only be changed by the introduction of a public space protection order (PSPO), under the existing rules laid down by Government.

Councillor Chris Blakeley, chairman of the council's environment committee, said: "It's almost two months since the council elections and still the threat of a dog ban is hanging over many parts of the borough.

"It's clear the council has no plan how to tackle the minority of owners who don't pick up after their pets and don't appear to even know where the council litter bins are."