WIRRAL councillors may have controversially voted to scrap plans to ban dogs from more than 100 locations across the borough, but the story is far from over.

That's because the final say on any decision about the proposed Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) will be made by the council's cabinet member for environment, Cllr Anita Leech.

Councillors at last Tuesday's heated environment overview and scrutiny committee meeting voted against the plans by eight votes to seven, asking the cabinet to instead use "existing powers to deal with the minority of dog owners who act in an irresponsible manner".

But the committee's recommendation is still just that – a recommendation, and Cllr Leech would be within her powers to push on regardless with the PSPO unchanged.

On Monday, a council spokeswoman said no decision had been made yet regarding the plans, with Cllr Leech adding that the authority will now take "extra time" to look at the views aired during last week's meeting.

It's not known exactly how long that will be, but she said: "Following the outcome of the scrutiny meeting, Wirral Council will now take some extra time to consider the views of the consultation, and take into account the opinions given by members and residents at the meeting.

"These proposals were put forward in a genuine attempt to improve the local environment for all residents, following concerns about dog attacks and dog fouling.

"This issue remains a priority as we look into how we can reduce negative incidents and promote responsible dog ownership, while acknowledging that the majority of dog owners are not at fault."

Two online petitions are continuing to be signed by those against the PSPO.

One has reached nearly 20,000 signatures and has been running since the measures were mooted in June last year.

A second petition was launched in the wake of last week's meeting, and urges Cllr Leech to withdraw the PSPO – and do so before the end of February.

It added: "Stop stalling, listen to your residents, take the advice from your peers and scrap the PSPO."

If introduced, the PSPO would include bans at cemeteries, picnic areas and playgrounds across the borough, and would come into force from April 1.

They were initially created in a bid to clamp down on dog fouling and incidents in the borough.

Dozens of locations from Arrowe Park to Eastham Rake to Irby to Wallasey would be affected by the new rules, which also include areas where the animals would need to be kept on leads.

They would also include several other rules – that owners must carry poo bags, a limit on the number of pets that can be walked by a single person to six, and that leads must be no longer than 2m in length.