A proposal to allow dogs on one of Tenby’s most popular beaches during the summer, outside of ‘peak times’ is still being pursued.

Councillors in Tenby have asked Pembrokeshire County Council to look into the possibility of changing restrictions that ban dogs from the North Beach for five months of the year.

The local authority’s bye-laws prohibiting dogs from areas of certain beaches across the county exists primarily to protect the interests of bathers during the summer season, with the restrictions in force between May 1 until September 30.

Discussing the matter again at this month’s meeting of the Town Council, the suggestion which was proposed by Cllr Duncan Whithurst, would see Tenby adopt a similar approach as other seaside resorts across the UK, such as Cornwall, that only has restrictions on beaches for dogs between 10 am and 6 pm.

Cllr Paul Rapi remarked that, since the pandemic, he has seen so many more dogs around the area, and felt restricting them was not good for tourism of town.

He said that he admired Cllr Whitehurst’s ‘perseverance’ in pursuing the matter, adding that it must be very frustrating.

He added that he has watched members of the public walking their dogs on the beach since the early summer and hopes that something comes from this, and he will be backing him all the way.

Cllr Whitehurst stated that he felt that some dog owners were really good but there was some way to go for them to earn the right for a dog restriction relaxation on beaches.

“People need to prove that, if they are allowed on the beaches for periods during the summer, they can keep it clean.

“It’s hard to make the argument for relaxing restrictions when you see our morning swimmers coming off the beach with bags of dog mess they have collected,” he commented, suggesting that perhaps a beach warden was needed too, as the problem was not just with dogs but also with litter.

“With all this talk of tourism taxes, it would be beneficial if tourism tax was spent in a transparent way. Taxes could be paying towards a beach warden for our town to deal with dogs and litter,” he remarked.

Cllr Sue Lane asked if the town could not incorporate funding a litter person or dog warden via the Enhancing Pembrokeshire Funding grant, as they could become self-financing through fines.

Cllr Laurence Blackhall said the idea was definitely worth exploring but would need some thought as to how it would be managed in terms of legal powers?

“Let’s get together to talk about the idea and see if it’s worth including in an EPF bid,” he said.

The town clerk said he had contacted Cllr Neil Prior, PCC Cabinet member for corporate improvements and communities, for an update on the Authority’s take on Cllr. Whitehurst’s proposal to relax restrictions.

Cllr. Prior said that, whilst he had received an opinion from PCC’s legal department regarding the by-laws he has returned to them for clarity.

The by-laws relating to dog restrictions had been introduced on a countywide basis. While a strategic review was needed, Legal seemed to imply that possibly Tenby Town Council could individually amend the bylaws relating to Tenby beaches. Clarification was being sought on this.

Cllr. Whitehurst added that he hoped that some progress could be made, as something similar had been achieved in Cornwall, with the possibility it was an amendment to a bylaw or possibly through a PSPO (public space protection order).