Council to review idea of banning dogs from some beaches in Seaham

The authority has said it will consider consulting the public on the idea of banning dogs from certain beaches after a request from Seaham Town Council.

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

In October last year a meeting heard of the problem of pet owners not picking up after their dogs and the potential health issues this could cause for children who play on the beach during the Spring and Summer months.

Therefore, it was mentioned that a ban could be introduced over the summer months as is the case at a number of beaches in Sunderland and North Tyneside

Beaches discussed at the time included the The Slope beach and Seaham Hall beach.

At the moment, dogs can be walked on Seaham beaches every day.

Durham County Council said that there are laws in place surrounding dog fouling and stray dogs under the authority’s public space protection order (PSPO).

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 three 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.”