Dogs on Cornwall’s Beaches: What’s Your View?
Should dogs be allowed on beaches more or less?
Dogs on Cornwall’s beaches: What’s your view?
Here is a letter sent to all Town & Parish Councils to get local views. (We is Cornwall Council)
Dear City, Town and Parish Council colleagues,
We have to decide when dogs should be allowed on beaches and want to know if you agree with our proposals. Many people enjoy walking on Cornwall’s beautiful beaches but not everyone likes or enjoys dogs.
Dogs are restricted on some beaches at certain times of the year; the legislation that controls and restricts dogs from public spaces has been changed by the Government and the Council has to decide how to apply the new rules on beaches in Cornwall. The existing legislation, called Dog Control Orders, has changed to Public Spaces Protection Orders which are known as PSPOs. In introducing the new PSPOs, that restrict dogs from beaches at specific times, we have an opportunity to review the existing restrictions.
We are proposing to keep all the existing conditions, times, dates and durations of dogs on beaches restrictions with new PSPOs; meaning we propose that dogs would be allowed on designated beaches at the same times as they are allowed now.
Guide dogs will not be affected by the changes and are allowed on beaches, even where dog bans are in place.
We want to know if people agree with how we propose to introduce the new legislation and if they think the existing conditions, that control dogs on beaches, are still appropriate.
Please let your communities know about the survey and encourage them to give us their views by completing the online questionnaire, available on our website:
www.cornwall.gov.uk/
The survey runs until 12 January 2017
More information about our dogs on beaches proposals, Dog Control Orders and PSPOs, is available on our website and in local libraries, information services and one stops shops, including:
List of beaches and current restrictions
Maps of the areas affected
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about PSPOs
Leaflet about dog controls on beaches and PSPOs
Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) can restrict how and when dogs are allowed on beaches and other public places, and may restrict where dogs can be walked, on or off the lead.
Beaches where dog bans apply are patrolled on a regular basis and if any of the conditions of the new PSPOs are breached, the Council’s dog wardens can issue a fine, called a Fixed Penalty Notice, of £100 and tell the dog owner to remove their dog from the beach immediately. If anyone is issued with a fine but doesn’t pay they may be prosecuted, and could be fined up to £1,000.
Breaching the conditions of a PSPO can be, for example, if someone has a dog on a beach during the ban period, not having their dog on a lead, or not cleaning up if their dog fouls on the beach.
If you need more information please contact us by phone: 0300 1234 212
or email: communityandenvironmentalprote
Kind regards
Cornwall Council Community Protection Team