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To: East Devon District Council

Change dog restrictions on Exmouth beach

I would like the current dog ban on Exmouth beach that currently stands from 1st May to 30th September ( with exceptions in two areas ) to be reviewed by East Devon District Council. I and others feel we could find a good compromise that suits dog owners and non dog owners alike.
I would like to propose several new options to the council that I and others feel would make great use of the beach all year round and would appeal to dog owners and those that are against the restrictions being changed.
As proposed by several Cornish councils, many of their beaches only have restrictions during the months of July and August when school holidays are on, they are allowed to use the beach to walk their dogs before 10am and after 6pm during this time,the remainder of the year there are no restrictions. I would like to propose that we here in Exmouth follow suit and follow the before 10am and after 6pm timings, we are all very aware how busy the beach is with families during the summer months and quite rightly so.
My next proposal is that they extend the area along the beach that has no dog restrictions from May 1st through to 30th September. Although we do have the use of an area at Orcombe point and the Octagon, there is only a reasonable amount of beach when the tide is fully out and we can’t all work our walks around the tides.
Exmouth beach is for all to enjoy and this petition is not about dogs being more important than people, let’s work together and not against.

Why is this important?

Exmouth and the surrounding areas have a huge doggy community with many households owning one or more dogs. The beach lies empty for many months while we all have to find other suitable open spaces for us to exercise them on. Not everyone has a car so they are unable to go further afield to walk their dogs. The dog areas on the beach currently are only sufficient spaces to exercise our dogs when the tide is out, we can’t all plan our walks around the tides. Exmouth is a popular holiday destination and now more than ever people are holidaying here in the UK, we would attract more holiday makers if our beach had restrictions in line with the Cornish beaches. Surely this is a good thing, brings more revenue to our town.

How it will be delivered

Once I feel we have sufficient signatures for the council to take us seriously then I propose to write to the appropriate department at EDDC and hopefully reach a compromise that suits everyone.

Exmouth, UK

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Updates

2021-05-23 12:17:10 +0100

1,000 signatures reached

2021-05-19 09:55:46 +0100

500 signatures reached

2021-05-18 18:51:02 +0100

100 signatures reached

2021-05-18 17:18:05 +0100

50 signatures reached

2021-05-18 15:04:40 +0100

25 signatures reached

2021-05-18 14:01:47 +0100

10 signatures reached