Dog ban plan for Millom beach
Last updated at 11:52, Monday, 20 April 2009
PLANS have been drawn up to ban dogs from south Copeland’s beaches.
The sands of Haverigg, Silecroft, Ravenglass, Seascale and St Bees could become no-go areas for dogs. The proposals, by Copeland Borough Council, aim to tackle the ongoing problem of dog fouling and clean up the coast.
The council has drawn up maps stating the proposed expulsion zones and is now carrying out a consultation.
Millom Town Council objects to the plans. It says the proposed laws are unenforceable and pointless.
Millom town councillor Janice Brown has eight grandchildren and regularly takes her four dogs on to Haverigg beach. She said: “There is no point banning dogs on the beach because who is going to enforce it? We should have someone monitoring it all day but we don’t have the money to do it. I wouldn’t take my grand kids down there for fear of them picking something up.”
Another Millom town councillor, Jack Park, said: “Enforcement officers are overstretched as it is. There is dog dirt everywhere.” The plans have been drawn up by the borough council under the government’s Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act. The Dog Control Orders – Town/Parish Consultation was launched last month.
Options listed in the consultation state four possible laws that could come into play. They are:
- The exclusion of dogs from an area
- Limiting the number of dogs walked by a single person
- Creation of areas that dogs must be kept on leads
- The enforcement of dog fouling areas down to the low water mark of inland rivers/streams and beaches
It is currently an offence to leave dog dirt at the top end of the beaches closest to the shore. But the borough council has now proposed an extension of the enforcement zones down to the low water mark of the sands.
The problem of dog fouling is an ongoing problem in Millom and has been highlighted on several occasions.
Cumbria county councillor Ray Cole has now launched a campaign to clean-up the town ahead of the tourist season. A spokesman for Copeland Borough Council said: “We are carrying out an ongoing consultation on a wide range of things.
It is something we are looking into to manage the cleanliness of the beaches. There are no definite plans.”
First published at 11:41, Monday, 20 April 2009
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk
What law covers the high water mark on the sands? Iv never heard so much rubbish about not letting dogs have a run on the beach where are people going to go with them? the ongoing problem with dog dirt in millom is a lack of bins around the millom and haverigg area.I have a dog and always pick up after her,but the people in millom will not walk around with it for miles in a bag when there is nowhere to put it. We need more bins.
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i agree with all points above,there are not enough bins around for dog owners to dispose of any dog mess, but there is also alot of other rubbish left on the beach.i am not a local, but have spent 3 holidays this year in haverigg,2 were spent on the campsite, where just about every tent or caravan had at least one dog.i always pick up any mess left from my dog, but noticed alot of others didn't. i'm sure if bins were made available and warning signs were placed around haverigg,ie, beside the play area, in the dunes,campsites, it would start to make a difference. its ignorance by the dog owners not to pick any mess up
Posted by t costello on 21 November 2009 at 23:18