Life's a beach

This year dogs and their owners will get more out of Cornwall’s beaches thanks to new simpler rules

- ALEXANDER PEARCE-BROOMHEAD

The argument over allowing dogs on Cornish beaches has been going on for some time now, but Cornwall Council have finally decided to act and adjust the regulations. But what do they mean for you and your four-legged friend?

Cornish beaches have previously been under strict restrictions for more than half the year, but starting in 2020, the Council have decided to trial new rulings for the next three years to see if a better balance can be reached, with councillors hoping the new rules will be easier to understand. The new restrictions will see a lot of beaches relax the current rules, where dogs are banned from Easter to 31 October. Now many beaches will only ban dogs between 10am and 6pm during July and August, however Blue-Flag status beaches hand will have the daily restriction between 10am and 6pm in ace for just over four months 15 May -30 September.

“This was the council’s largest ever consultation response, with over 13,128 replies, 78 percent from residents and 19 percent from visitors,” says Coun. Rob Nolan. “Across this huge response was a strong theme for the regulations to be both simpler to understand and standardised across Cornwall. At present they are different from place to place - some are 24 hours, some start at 7am. This is complicated and confusing, particularly for our visitors, so harmonising dates to two months, and times to eight hours a day, will make them easier to comprehend and to enforce.