Give your views on dogs on beaches
Local people can now give their views on plans to simplify the
current dog walking restrictions in place on the beaches across
Thanet.
Currently, there are byelaws in place which restrict people from
walking their dogs on nine of Thanet’s beaches, but these have
operated at different times and have been difficult for local
people to follow.
Plans to introduce Dog Control Orders on all these beaches,
along with Louisa Bay in Broadstairs, are now out to public
consultation. This would ban dogs on each of these beaches from 15
May to 15 September between the hours of 10:00 and 18:00.
The beaches are Minnis Bay (main area) in Birchington, Viking
Bay, Louisa Bay and Stone Bay in Broadstairs, Margate Main Sands,
Westbrook Bay, West Bay and St. Mildred’s Bay in Westgate, Ramsgate
Main Sands and Walpole Bay.
A total of ten bays in Thanet would continue to have no
restrictions in place. These are Grenham Bay (between Minnis Bay
and Epple Bay) and Epple Bay in Birchington, Dumpton Gap and
Kingsgate Bay in Broadstairs, Foreness Point, Palm Bay and Sacketts
Gap (between Palm Bay and Walpole Bay) in Cliftonville, Fulsam Rock
(between the Margate Harbour Arm and the Lido) in Margate and the
Eastcliff and Western Undercliff in Ramsgate.
Cllr. Shirley Tomlinson, Cabinet Member for Commercial and
Environmental Services, said: “We want to hear local people’s views
on our proposals, which we hope will strike a balance for everyone
during the summer months. These proposed Dog Control Orders not
only help us to keep Thanet’s beautiful beaches clean, but they
also help us to retain beach awards, such as the prestigious Blue
Flags. But we are also conscious that dog walkers love the area’s
beaches and we want them to be able to walk their dogs responsibly
throughout the year. We hope we’ve come up with a compromise to
help achieve that, but now we need to know what everyone thinks. I
hope people will take this opportunity to get involved in this
consultation and make their views known.”
The closing date for the consultation is Friday 29 August and
you can have your say by writing to Communications, Thanet District
Council, P.O Box 9, Cecil Street, Margate, Kent CT9 1XZ or email
hannah.thorpe@thanet.gov.uk
You can also give your views online
ENDS