Over 60 fixed penalty notices issued to dog owners flouting beach ban

THE summer-long dog ban on some of the beaches of Swansea Bay has been declared a big success.

The six-month annual ban which was lifted at the end of September was backed up this year by an eight-week campaign to encourage owners to participate in the initiative.

Extra signage went up in the affected areas and thousands of leaflets were produced for distribution so that dog owners were informed about where they could and could not walk their pets.

On top of that enforcement officers took to the beaches, ready to issue fixed penalty notices to those who ignored the rules.

Cllr David Hopkins, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transportation, said: “The campaign was very successful. Our enforcement officers were very active and issued just 61 £40 fixed penalty notices, all of which have been paid.

“It’s not a big number and what it shows is that, by and large, dog owners know and understand the rules and abide by them too.”

Cllr Hopkins said the purpose of the annual dog ban from some of our beaches is to allow them to be shared so everyone can enjoy them.

“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,” he said.

“Families, in particular, feel the benefits because it means they can enjoy the beach without having to worry as much about the antics of dogs spoiling their enjoyment.”

“As part of the #TidySwansea campaign we conducted a week-long deterrence initiative in August 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.”