Before coming into force, the byelaws need to be advertised in a local paper. The Council then has to wait a month from the date of the advertisement and then apply to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) to have the byelaws officially confirmed. The ODPM estimates that it takes two weeks to confirm byelaws from receipt of the application, provided it is satisfied and there are no objections. There then has to be a further month (at least) from the date of confirmation before they come into force. Using these time limits, a timetable showing the earliest date that they could come into force is set out below. Please note that that this could be extended by circumstances outside the Council's control - if, for example, objections are received or where the OPDM takes longer than indicated.

Stage no	Description	Date (estimates where future dates)
1	Sealing of byelaws	20 February 2004
2	Advertising of byelaws	27 February 2004
3	Application to the ODPM for confirmation of the byelaws	No earlier than 29 March 2004
4	Confirmation of byelaws	14 April 2004 (approx - see main text)
5	Coming into force of byelaws	(No earlier than one month from Stage 4, usually on the 1st day of the month) - 1 June 2004

Enforcement

Either the Police or the Council can prosecute people who are alleged to have infringed the byelaws. The Council will notify the Police of the new byelaws once they are confirmed.

A - Police

The police could bring could either bring a prosecution themselves (via the Crown Prosecution Service) or they could refer the matter to us. They will be able to point out to offenders that they are committing an offence and this ought to have some deterrent effect.

B - The Council

Signs will need to be erected to alert potential offenders to the illegality of what they are doing and it is hoped that these will have a deterrent effect.

As with the Police, appropriate officers will be able to warn people infringing byelaws that they risk prosecution.

In the event of a possible prosecution, Legal Services would assess the relevant evidence against the Council's prosecution policy and decide whether or not to prosecute on a case by case basis. Should a prosecution be brought, it would be in the Magistrates' Court. If an offender is found (or pleads) guilty, the Council may ask the Court to order him/her to compensate the Council for any financial loss and to pay the costs of the proceedings, although the final decision is with the Court.

The most likely officers to be involved in providing evidence will be Neighbourhood Wardens, Housing Officers and the Parks Rangers, although other Council enforcement staff could be involved in specific cases. Members of the public may also give evidence.