Better signs are needed to ensure that dog owners know when they can and cannot take their pets on to Cornish beaches.

That was the call from Cornwall councillors this week as they reviewed the new arrangements which came into force on beaches this summer.

Cornwall Council has Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) in place on 43 beaches around the Duchy and this year set new guidelines in a bid to harmonise the rules which had previously been different for individual beaches.

Under the new restrictions, beaches without Blue Flag or Seaside Award status had dog bans in place between 10am and 6pm in July and August.

Those which have Blue Flag or Seaside Awards had bans from May 15 to September 30 again from 10am to 6pm.

The changes meant there was more time for dog owners to take their pets to the beach.

Feedback following the changes has been mixed with dog owners welcoming the move while some were unhappy.

The council's neighbourhoods overview and scrutiny committee considered a report reviewing the restrictions when it met yesterday.

Councillors said that they had received a large number of calls and emails from the public wanting to comment about the restrictions with a mixture of views.

Rob Nolan, Cabinet member for environment and public protection, said:

"I have had a good deal of emails and calls about this over the last few months. Signage is the one clear thing that emerges from this and it is something we need to do (improve).

"It has been suggested that we should have an email address or phone number on the signs so people can report problems, it would give us an indication of where there are problems."

He added:

"As we look at the complaints we see that perhaps one size doesn't fit all – different areas have different issues.

"Falmouth and St Ives have town beaches that are very busy and used almost as parks. I had a call from someone at 8am and they had taken their three-year-old to the beach and a dog had weed on them, they were furious and rightly so.

"In those areas people would like to go back to restrictions from April to October."

Cllr Nolan said that there had also been concerns that not enough enforcement had taken place – the council has issued just five fixed penalty notices to dog owners who had breached the restrictions.

He said that the council had taken an approach to "educate and encourage" but he conceded that "people want to see a bit more than that".

Some councillors suggested that at the next review parish and town councils should be given the opportunity to set their own local restrictions for their beaches.

They said that while it was Cornwall Council which would have the legal responsibility for the PSPOs the town and parish councils would pick up the bill for putting them in place and enforcing them.

Councillors also said that improved signage and an improved webpage providing details of the restrictions was also needed with some saying that they had approached people who were breaching the restrictions who thought they were following the rules.

The committee agreed to have the current restrictions in place for another 12 months and that another review should be conducted after that.

They also recommended that the signage, website and general communication about the restrictions should be improved in time for the 2021 summer season.

And they recommended that from 2022 parish and town councils should be given the opportunity to carry out a consultation about their own local restrictions on beaches.

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