Dog beach ban set to be lifted

THE summer-long dog ban on some of the beaches of Swansea Bay is lifted today(1st October 2015)!

But owners have been warned that enforcement of the dog mess ban will continue on beaches and across the city.

Dogs are banned from certain beaches in Swansea Bay in the summer months from May to the end of September. And this summer enforcement officers have been patrolling during the busiest months to ensure owners heeded the ban.

Cllr David Hopkins, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transportation, said: “I’m glad to say dog owners have been heeding the warnings.

“As part of the #tidySwansea campaign we conducted a week-long deterrence initiative prior to initiating the enforcement action. That, alongside publicity in the media and key locations near beaches, seems to have done the trick.

“The council is grateful to the many dog owners who listened to what we had to say and ensured that not only did they walk their dogs only on the appropriate beaches, but that they cleared up after their mess too.”

But he added: “This is a success story for everyone because we would much rather people behave responsibly so that we don’t have to issue fixed penalty notices or clear up dog mess or litter after the irresponsible people who can’t be bothered to do the right thing.”

Swansea Council spends more than £2m a year clearing up after people littering and fly-tipping.

Cllr Hopkins said: “Residents who clean up after dog and don’t dump litter have nothing to worry about.

“But our enforcement officers will not hesitate to issue fixed penalty notices and we will prosecute those who don’t pay up.”

The by-law banning dogs from certain areas of beaches in Swansea Bay, Bracelet, Limeslade, Rotherslade, Langland, Caswell and Port Eynon has been in place for more than 20 years and is familiar to many regular beach visitors.

Signs highlighting the location of the dog-free beaches are on show near each of them, including in the closest car parks.