Southend Council intends to introduce dog control orders soon which will severely restrict where owners can give their dogs proper exercise.

Most dog owners I have approached have heard nothing about it, but there is still time to register objections by means of a council feedback form which can be found on the council’s website.

Unless dog owners unite in making their objections known, the council will ride roughshod over us and much of our personal rights and freedom to enjoy open spaces in our town with our dogs will be lost.

There are, in fact, some good points to the order, such as trying to make all dog owners clean up after their dogs, keeping dogs out of children’s play areas, on sports pitches, and other special places, but the council has gone much too far in the restrictions.

It intends, for instance, to ban dogs from all of Southend’s five or so miles of beaches and mudflats from May to September, where previously over two miles of beaches have had no summer restrictions.

Dogs must be also be kept on leads not exceeding 6ft in many large grassed areas, for example East Beach, Shoebury.

Use of leads will be compulsory on all public promenades, walkways and footpaths where many of them have previously been unrestricted and left to the dog owner’s discretion.

Dogs will be banned from allotments, so you can’t take your best friend with you while you tend your fruit & veg!

I’m trying to encourage dog owners to press the council to adopt a more balanced and reasonable approach which takes account of the interests and rights of all parties concerned.

It’s wrong for the interests of one group of people – dog owners – to be completely subjugated by the interests of another.

There’s scope for everyone to enjoy the town’s amenities with a bit of mutual consideration. So come on dog owners. Make your voice heard before its too late!

Ian Robinson
Kensington Road
Southend