Sedgemoor District Council has denied press reports that it is considering introducing tougher rules on beach dog walking on Burnham-On-Sea beach.
It had been claimed that the town’s beach could come under tougher, new restrictions being considered by the council.
However, district council spokeswoman Claire Faun told Burnham-On-Sea.com on Friday (February 22nd) that no such changes have been put forward.
“There are currently by-laws that prohibit dogs on the central part of the beach, between the slipway and the Pavilion, all year round. There is another by-law that prohibits dogs on the beach between the Yacht Club and slipway and between The Pavilion and Maddocks Slade between 1st May and 30th September inclusive. These have been in force for several years now, but there are no plans to change this,” she said.
She added that the confusion had arisen due to a change in the laws covering dog controls. This means it is necessary for the district council to introduce new Dog Control Orders to replace the existing by-laws in play areas.
The change in the legislation, under The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 and The Dog Control Orders Regulations 2006, removes the provision of by-laws and replaces them with Dog Control Orders.
Claire Faun added: “There is a Public Consultation phase, which expires on 4th March, and there is a meeting of our Licensing and General Purposes Committee on 19th March when any responses will be considered from the public.”
