Another consultation could be held on Tilgate Park dog restrictions

The recommendation was made during a meeting of the overview & scrutiny commission on Monday (July 4) and will be put to a meeting of the cabinet on Wednesday (July 6).

Plans for a Public Space Protection Order covering the whole park were put to the public in February and March, attracting more than 2,800 responses.

Some 58.4% (1,631) of respondents did not support the implementation of a PSPO while 63% (1,758) supported the idea of an area within Tilgate Park being provided where dogs could be let off the lead.

As a result, a new proposal, requiring dogs to be on the lead at Tilgate (Campbell’s) Lake, Silt Lake, the Peace Garden, the lawn area and the golf course was drawn up.

If approved by the full council later this month, it would leave 241 acres in the park where dogs can run still off the lead.

The protection order was sought when the council received a petition last year after a dog was attacked by another which was not on a lead.

While recognising that most dog owners act responsibly when out with their pets, councillors at the time recalled incidents of wildlife such as swans and deer being chased or attacked, while one revealed that his grown-up daughter had been bitten by a dog which ran out of the lake.

A report from the council’s head of community services said 22 dog-related reports had been made to Sussex Police between 2018 and 2021.

During Monday’s meeting, Chris Mullins, cabinet member for wellbeing, shared the news that a male swan had died after being mauled by two dogs in June.

He added: “What we’re trying to highlight here is this is not an irregular occurrence.

“We have had lots and lots of problems over the years with dogs down at the lakeside attacking the creatures on the lake.”

The meeting heard from three members of the public who were opposed to the need to keep their dogs on the lead anywhere in the park.

One felt people were being asked to ‘spy’ on each other by reporting those who did not follow the rules, while another felt the consultation had been ‘poorly publicised’, called the proposals ‘draconian’ and suggested the whole process was ”being orchestrated in response to pressure from the people who run the golf course’.

The latter left the meeting before the discussion had ended, declaring it ‘shameful’.

Mr Mullins said: “First of all, we’re not banning dogs from the golf course. All we’re saying is keep them on a lead.”

He told the meeting that the council’s proposals could have been seen as draconian ‘if we’d gone for the whole park’.

He added: “What we’ve done is we’ve gone for areas of the park where we think the wildlife and people who are picnicking and relaxing shouldn’t be harassed by dogs.

“We’re asking responsible dog owners to be responsible – that’s all we’re doing – and we’re giving them an awful lot of acreage to be responsible in.”