Dog-ban plans to come before Cabinet

Monday's 2.30pm meeting at Bexhill Town Hall will receive a recommendation from director of services Tony Leonard.

He will suggest that the cabinet authorises the head of corporate resources to make a Dog Control Order to exclude dogs from areas including children's playgrounds, school playing fields, cemeteries and designated areas of the beach.

The process involves advertising the Order. The Order could be made if no representations were received. If representations were received these would have to be reported to a future meeting for consideration.

The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 replaced the previous system of council byelaws with the power to make Dog Control Orders.

When Rother's first draft Orders were published a year ago the resultant outcry culminated in a mass march by owners and their pets from the De La Warr Pavilion terrace to the Town Hall.

The authority has just made the first Order to deal with dog fouling.

If the new Order is approved, it will be an offence punishable by 75 fixed penalty notice to allow dogs on to bowling greens, enclosed play areas for children, sports and playing fields under the control of educational establishments, ornamental planted areas of public walks and pleasure grounds.

In Bexhill the Order would include both Bexhill Cemetery and Barrack Road Cemetery, the walled garden at Manor Garden, the "religious lawn" on West Parade and the beach between Brockley Road and Sea Road.

In rural Rother it would include the Rye and Northiam cemeteries, Brede recreation ground, Jubilee Green in Lydd Road, Camber, Crowhurst's King George VI recreation ground, Guestling Playing Fieid, Sedlescombe;'s Red Barn Field Nature Park, Rye Gun Garden, Westfield recreation ground and Camber beach and dunes together with part of the foreshore at Pett Level and the seashore at Dogs Hill, Winchelsea.

Mr Leonard says Bexhill Down poses special difficulties. Although the freehold is held jointly by East Sussex County Council and the De La Warr Estate, it is legally a common managed by Rother under Act of Parliament.

Part, by King Offa School, is used as a school playing field. But although the Order should apply to school playing fields, the land is also a common - which is a public resource.

"Detaching part of the Bexhill Down to enable it to be used exclusively as a school playing field has been considered, but would involve considerable legal problems."

The director of resources says that for similar reasons it would not be possible to enclose the children'd playground on the south side of Little Common Road and exclude dogs from this area.

The obligation for owners to clean up after their dogs applies to both areas.