Following Weymouth and Portland Borough Council Draft minutes of the Full Council Meeting on the 19th January 2017, I feel its necessary to publish our presentation to the council of our Petition regarding reversing the extension to the dog ban on the beach.
At no time did any councillor acknowledge the matters we raised. One councillor waved a map of the dog areas in our direction. Another suggested we would not want the council to refer it back to the scrutiny committee because one of the people on that committee wanted to ban dogs. Two further councillors spoke about relatives or friends who had bad experiences with dogs. Please read the minutes because you will read some of the comments made by an Alderman it appeared there are no places for children between the ages of 5-10 to run and play without fear of confrontations with dogs.
2010 Equality Act, I am one of 125 disabled people with a long term health condition who completed the online consultation, I am one in four people with a mental health condition. I find it difficult to be in crowded places or within a confined space, it reduces my options of places I can exercise.
Being able to access the beach with my dogs during the months of October to May helped me in my recovery from agoraphobia. Accessing an open spaces helps with both my mental health and physical well-being. For people with physical disabilities ease of access to the section of *(Recommendation 33) Preston Beach is impossible because of the increased height of the sea defences, approximately 6ft high along the length of the beach to Overcome, during out of season months.
We collected signatures between October and December 2016 enabling us to interact with people who are against the extended ban. We gained insight from many locals, businesses and visitors who did not know of the existence of the consultation. People who voted against the extension *(Recommendation 30) did not attend the meeting believing that the majority did not want change and believed their views would be listened to.
Unfortunately we had no notification of a 6 week period in which to appeal.
This order will not be reviewed until 2019 in which time many have expressed that they will no longer visit and may never return.
Talking to a local travel agent they expressed concerns regarding visitors staying in Weymouth and Portland, commenting they come here on holiday often out of season and stay in accommodation allowing pets.
We agree replacement of the Dog Control Order with Public Open Space Order to reduce costs in actions regarding the few dog owners who are irresponsible. However extending the ban does not address this, it will need education and/or fines. POSO has given council officials the legal intervention they needed. They can issue warnings and fines without the need for a magistrates court which was necessary under the Dog Control Order which made it expensive to implement.
Lastly the opinion held by the majority of people we spoke to, expressed a view about the councils attitude, being negative when it comes to listening to the people who voted for them.
They feel they are not representing the opinions of those who want to see the ban reversed. Communicating with councillors via social media opened our minds to the fact that many will not be changing their position concerning this.
The option we would prefer the council to take are, the actions requested by the signatories of the petitions.
We observed the signage and consider the lettering to be very small and it would take a minor adjustment to return the dates as requested. Cost being off set against the decline in use of car parks and amenities by locals and visitors.
We researched from 1989 to present date and note water quality fluctuates during June-September. The years in which Blue Flag status was gained from 2013-2016. during this time dogs have been allowed access to the beach from October to May, the ban did not come into operation until June 2016.
*Equality Act 2010 unfairly discriminated by Local Authority, Mental Health and ease of access to public space.
Unfavourable treatment, because of something arising in consequence of that person’s disability, and
It cannot be shown that the treatment is proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim (‘objective justification’)
Policy Development Committee 7 December 2015 for recommendation C page 6 /7
(4.) Background information 4.1 Is not likely to have a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality, Is not unreasonable; and Justifies the restrictions imposed. Councillor Wheller placed a notice of motion in 2014 with regard to dogs and their owners using Weymouth Beach. This request for review has placed Weymouth and Portland at the forefront of developing a PSPO Oder in Dorset.
6. Financial Implication 6.1 Some additional signage will need to be displayed at certain locations in the Borough in order to inform the public. The estimate cost of this is £1000.
*Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, Policy Development Committee, Minutes of the meeting held on 7th December 2015.
Referred to Full Council Meeting 25 February 2016
Number of People completing Consultation *1695 being made up of 1632 online and 63 paper responses.
Number of People participating in our petitions October 1st 2016 – January 3rd 2017: 896 locals and 230 visitors plus Judi Moores 1113. Combined total of 2239.
Mollie Bruce
