Dogs Could Be Banned From Five More Sites Around Canterbury

Dogs would be banned from five more play and sports areas around the Canterbury district under a new dog control order. Councillors discuss it on Thursday 5 November, and Cabinet decides on 7 December.

The new order is needed because the current one, in force since May 2024, was not lawfully made. The report proposes discharging it as soon as possible.

Where dogs would be banned

The five new exclusion areas are:

• New Heights play park, Whitstable
• Birch Road and Hollow Lane play park, Canterbury
• Memorial Park courts, Herne Bay
• the multi-use games area at Gorrell Valley Nature Reserve
• Rough Common and Harbledown play park, Canterbury

Two places would become less restricted. Dogs would be allowed on The Village Green at Barham, on a lead, rather than banned. The exclusion would also not apply at the former enclosed play area at Bishops Way, Canterbury.

What stays the same

The order would still require anyone in charge of a dog to:

• pick up after it
• keep it on a lead of no more than two metres in listed places
• put it on a lead if an authorised officer directs them to
• keep it out of listed exclusion areas

The summer beach bans stay as they are. They cover Herne Bay Pier to Lane End, and level with Pier Avenue west to The Street at Tankerton, from 1 May to 30 September. The report says the order adds no new coastal restrictions. Assistance dogs remain exempt.

Listed lead areas include Westgate Gardens, Dane John Gardens, the High Street and Whitstable Castle Gardens.

What people said

The consultation ran from 9 July to 30 September. It drew 67 online responses and included events at the Beaney and in Swalecliffe and Chestfield.

• 80.6% had witnessed or experienced dog fouling in the past year
• 47.8% had seen dogs off the lead in restricted areas
• 22.4% had seen dogs in exclusion areas
• 70.1% supported the two-metre lead rule

The strongest recurring themes, the report says, were more enforcement, more patrols and clearer signs. Some respondents preferred education and enforcement to extra restrictions on the coast. It says the results are not a public vote.

What it means for you

• If you walk a dog in those five places, nothing changes until Cabinet makes the order and signs go up. The council says it will publish maps and put up signs at the relevant places.
• If you are fined, the council’s approach starts with information and education. A fixed penalty notice may follow where appropriate.
• If you want to watch, the Overview Committee is streamed on YouTube from 7pm. The deadline to register to speak has passed.

Any new order would last three years. Our earlier report on the consultation has more on the old rules.