Where dogs are banned on Sunderland's beaches over the summer

Owners are banned from walking their pet pooches on sections of Roker and Seaburn beaches thoughout the summer.

The orders came into effect on Monday, May 1, and will remain in place until the end of September.

At Roker dogs are banned from the area left of the pier to the slipway next to the park. At Seaburn dogs are banned from the area opposite Morrison’s supermarket along to the steps opposite the junction of Whitburn Road and Dykelands road.

The orders are the same as last year, after council chiefs rejected proposals to change the existing arrangements.

Residents were asked for their views on changes to the rules as part of a refresh of the council’s Public Space Protection Order (PSPO), which aims to tackle issues such as nuisance and anti-social behaviour.

People were initially asked to decide from two options – whether they would rather have to keep dogs on leads at all times while on the beach or see pets banned from the beaches entirely between 9am-6pm.

But an angry response from owners, which included an on-line petition with more than 4,000 signatures, led to people being given a third option – to retain the existing arrangements.

And around 92% of the more than 6,700 people taking part in the consultation said they were in favour of keeping the dog exclusion zones in place with no changes.

The PSPO, including the retention of the existing rules dog exclusion zones, was given the green light at a meeting of the council’s ruling cabinet in March.

Paula Smith from Silksworth, who set up the online petition, told the Echo that she was “over the moon” when she heard the news.

The 40-year-old said: “The support that the petition received was just brilliant, all of the dog walkers that I’ve spoken to at the beach were all so keen for things to stay the same.”

Paula believed the existing rules represented the best compromise between dog walkers and other beach users: "In previous years there has been certain locations where dogs aren’t allowed and that is fair enough but at least they were allowed on some parts of the beach,” she said.

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