Hastings council consults on beach dog control

A public consultation into dog control on two beaches in Hastings, East Sussex, has launched.

Hastings Borough Council’s public consultation sets out three choices for dog controls on the beaches in the east of Hastings – the Stade beach and Rock-a-Nore beach.

The choices are:

Current dog controls – Keep the dog exclusion areas as they are; no dogs allowed on the Stade beach or Rock-a-Nore beach from 1 April to 30 September.

Option 1 – Removing the dog exclusion zone on the Stade beach so dogs would be allowed on this beach all year round.  Keeping the dog exclusion zone from 1 April to 30 September on Rock-a-Nore in place.

Option 2 – Removing the dog exclusion zone on both Rock-a-Nore and Stade beach so dogs are allowed at all times all year round on both.

No changes are proposed to the dog controls on the rest of the beaches or in the parks and open spaces across town.

The dog controls also covers prosecution for dog fouling, which can lead to a £100 on-the-spot fine or £1,000 if prosecuted through the courts.

Councillor Glenn Haffenden, lead councillor for housing and community wellbeing, said: “We know that some people were unhappy with the dog controls that were introduced by the previous council administration earlier this year. We are now giving everyone the chance to have their say so we can look at these again.”

The consultation, which closes on 1 September, can be seen here. The results will then be analysed and discussed at a future Cabinet meeting.