Businesses and dog walkers express anger over council's plan to review banning dogs from Seaham beaches

In November, Durham County Council confirmed that it is considering consulting the public on the idea of banning dogs from certain beaches following a request from Seaham Town Council.

The issues of dog fouling on the beaches were previously discussed in length at a council meeting in October last year and problems have been raised numerous times in previous years.

It has been mentioned that a ban could be introduced over the summer months on The Slope beach and Seaham Hall beach.

Since this confirmation, Eve Richardson, a local dog walker, has set up an online petition against any proposals, even though none have been brought forward yet.

She said: “I have made the petition to help spread the word and to help local businesses fight this because I’m just one person and we all need to come together to tackle this.”

Wendy McGhin, a local dog walker in Seaham owns Wendy and Rhi's Mobile Pet Care, has said Seaham should be dog friendly.

She said: “I think Seaham needs to stay dog friendly and I don’t think dogs are causing an issue. Personally, we don’t take our dogs on The Slope during the summer because of the children but we use that area during the Winter months. We always take care.

“The only area of beach left, if it goes ahead, could be Noses Point which is horrendous for those who are elderly or disabled to access.”

Andrew Smith, another local business owner, also walks his dogs on the local beaches. He added: “I can understand a ban on the beaches during a certain time in the summer but mornings and evenings would cause a problem for all of the walkers. I’ve found more nappies, glass and hooks on the beach than dog mess.”

Kenny Broxson who owns Roobarb 'n' Custard in Seaham also has concerns.

He said: “My future is looking very bleak because I don’t think my business will be able to keep going if they take the dogs away from the area. Lots of development is taking place in Seaham to bring more people and pets to the area but if they ban dogs from the beaches, we won’t have many customers.

“I honestly think I will be closing the doors if this goes ahead.”

Mark Milroy, the owner of The Lookout at the marina is worried that the ban would also affect his business if it is confirmed.

He said: “I think it will have a massive impact on all businesses at the marina.

“If the dog walkers had to go elsewhere, we’d have to look at a new way of gaining all of our loyal customers - that’s my worry. We have never had an incident with dogs.

“I can understand maybe in the summer that dogs should be on their leads but a full ban isn’t necessary.”

Durham County Council has told the Echo that councillors will be happy to discuss all of these concerns if the ban becomes part of their review in the new year.

Ian Hoult, neighbourhood protection manager at Durham County Council, said: “In June 2017, we introduced a public space protection order (PSPO) across County Durham, which empower us to take enforcement action against owners who do not pick up after their dogs, allow their dogs to stray, fail to put the animal on a lead when requested to do so by an authorised person and take it into certain fenced off parks. The order lasts for 3 years, until 2020, when it will be reviewed and amended if required.

“We have been approached by Seaham Town Council with a request to ban dogs from certain beaches in the area. This will be considered within the PSPO review and, if it is felt that it could be beneficial, we would conduct a public consultation with a range of options to gather people’s views.”