The consultation gathered views from residents, visitors, businesses and other organisations about a dog-related Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) across the Dorset Council area.
These views will be used to create a new Order that will give clarity and consistency for both dog-owners and non-owners. Councillors will make the final decision on the controls to be included in the new Order.
The survey originally ran for 12 weeks and this was extended for another three weeks to ensure people who wanted to respond with paper copies were able to.
8,602 responses were received. 83% of responses were from local residents, with 15% from visitors and 2% other organisations. 64% of responses came from dog owners and 36% from non-dog owners. 6.6% of the respondents considered they had a disability.
Questions were asked about whether dogs should be kept on leads in certain areas, if dogs should be permitted into cemeteries graveyards, public gardens and sports pitches.
There were also questions about how people felt about restrictions on specific beaches across Dorset. These were about dogs on leads, whether the start and end dates of the restrictions should be harmonised across Dorset and whether there should be a dog exercise area.
Cllr Jill Haynes, Dorset Council Portfolio Holder for Customer and Community Services said:
“We have had an excellent response rate for this consultation. And it gave us a wealth of information to base the new PSPO. Thank you to everyone who took part.
“The full report and recommendations will be discussed at Place and Resources Overview Committee on 21 September and then to Cabinet on 6 October.”
What an enormous relief to have my local library back. I opted for the pick up a selection chosen by the staff. Wonderful, and I have gained some new authors to enjoy,
Thank you
Dear Sirs, I am a little concerned regarding the dog area of Weymouth beach being moved given the disharmony between the dogs and the horses, or rather the owners. It appears difficult to stop teams of horses cantering into the crowded dog area at the end of the beach busy with dogs, owners and families trying to avoid the horses, were it not for the harbour wall. How do you propose to stop teams of horses cantering straight through the new dog area.