LOCALS who want their village beaches to stay ‘dog friendly’ came out to a meeting to make their feelings known.

In Kingsand on the Rame Peninsula, a petition launched only a few days ago has reached more than 1,000 signatures.

Many are angered by what they are viewing as a failure on the part of Maker with Rame Parish Council to consult widely enough over dog restrictions.

Things came to a head recently when Cornwall Councillor for Rame Kate Ewert posted on Facebook to say that she had spoken at a scrutiny committee, on Maker with Rame PC’s behalf, in favour of a new seasonal dog ban.

In response to the local authority’s 2022 consultation over dogs on beaches, the Parish Council had recommended that dogs should be banned from Kingsand and Girt beaches between Easter and September, and between the hours of 10am and 6pm, in addition to Cawsand where there is already a restriction in place.

Nearby Sheviock Parish Council had recommended that a round-the-clock ban be reinstated on Portwrinkle’s Hoodney and Harbour Beaches.

But after her recent announcement, Cllr Ewert faced a backlash of negative comments from residents, some saying it was the first they’d heard of such a proposal.

Petition organiser Susie Peirce said: “Our villages are proud to be portrayed as dog friendly, and for those that prefer their beach dog free, Cawsand already has a seasonal dog ban in place. Extending the ban across all village beaches takes away the choice of the community, be it locals, second-home owners or visitors, and will impact our businesses.”

Maker with Rame PC said that it had put a link to the public consultation on its website and Facebook page, and that its discussions and decisions at council meetings had been published.

But many residents felt that they hadn’t been invited to give their views, or informed about the dramatic change that was being proposed.

The parish council sent a letter to Cornwall Council to state its position on the matter in September 2022, in which it said it had received two letters of complaint about dog mess on the beach in 2021, and representations from 15 parishioners in 2022.

In its submission, the local council explains that it feels it should be putting people before dogs, that the ratio of dogs to children on beaches has been ‘imbalanced’ and that there is a risk from the presence of dog faeces on beaches. It states that there “are lots of wonderful opportunities for exercising dogs both in the country and on other beaches (such as Whitsand Bay)” and that it is “not necessary to permit dogs on three small beaches that are popular with people”.

But there’s been outcry from those who feel that the parish council’s line does not represent the community as a whole.

Maker Camp manager Jo Phillips said: “One of the biggest things our customers love is the fact that our community are massive dog lovers, allowing holiday makers to take their dogs on the beaches and all cafes and bars.

“Yes, we have the beautiful Whitsand Bay, however, not everyone can scale up and down the cliffs. I think this is an absolute outrage.”

Resident Sean Stevens said: “I don’t understand how this can be considered a ‘fair balance’ when it imposes a 100% ban on all of the beaches in the villages for the vast majority of the waking day, for the period of the year where you want to be able to enjoy the beach? The current arrangements and balance of Cawsand being dog free and Kingsand being dog friendly works well, and gives options to all beach goers.”

There’s been further worry over the parish council’s suggestion that in the light of Cornwall Council’s lack of resource to be able to enforce a dog ban, enforcement could be carried out by remote camera recording, and the recruitment of local people to police the ban and issue penalties.

As the Cornish Times went to press, around 50 people had attended a parish council meeting, where representatives of businesses and residents on either side of the argument had the chance to speak.

Cllr Kate Ewert has given a reassurance that there will now be an extension of time before any decision is made by Cornwall Council on whether to extend the dog restrictions.

“This issue is incredibly polarising, and I have received equal amounts of correspondence for Maker with Rame parishioners on either side of the debate,” said Cllr Ewert.

“My job was to represent the Parish Councils submission, and to be fair, prior to last week, I had only ever received correspondence from residents wanting a ban.”

Cllr Ewert said that she, the Parish Council, Cornwall Council, and MP Sheryll Murray were all trying to reach a solution to help move things forward.

“The MP has offered to conduct a survey of residents that live within the parish and the portfolio holder Cllr Martyn Alvey has agreed to wait for the results of that survey before making a final decision.

“The Parish Council has agreed that this would be incredibly useful and have also proposed that whatever the result of that survey, a working group to include both sides of the debate is formed to look into this subject in greater detail. I really believe this is a fair way forward.”

Cllr Ewert continued: “Just to be clear, Cornwall Council’s position is that Kingsand and Girt beach do not qualify for an Easter until October ban, these beaches are not Blue Flag or Seaside Award beaches , and even Blue Flag beaches have a shorter seasonal ban than this. The Portfolio holder has made it clear that for Kingsand and Girt, the options will be either a July and August, 10am to 6pm restriction, or no restriction.”