Dogs are barred from both beaches until 30 September under an order that expires next May. Every lead-only and dog-free site listed, plus how to respond by 1 October.
The summer dog ban on Herne Bay and Tankerton beaches lifts on 30 September. The day after that, at 9am on 1 October, the consultation closes on the order that imposes it (Canterbury City Council).
The current Public Spaces Protection Order (Control of Dogs) was made on 3 May 2024 and came into effect on 10 May 2024. It runs for three years, so it expires on 10 May 2027. The council has to decide what replaces it, and it is asking dog owners first.
Two stretches of beach are closed to dogs from 1 May to 30 September inclusive:
- the beach from Herne Bay Pier to Lane End, Herne Bay
- the beach level with Pier Avenue west to The Street, Tankerton
The promenade from Herne Bay Pier to Lane End is not closed during those months, but dogs must be on a lead along it. The slopes above Tankerton beach are not covered by either restriction.
Where dogs must be on a lead
The order names 27 places where a dog must be kept on a lead of no more than two metres at all times. In Canterbury they are Westgate Gardens, Toddlers Cove, Dane John Gardens, St Augustine’s Abbey Gardens, Greyfriars Gardens, St Paul’s Church Yard, Martyrs Field, St Mary de Castro Gardens, Best Lane Gardens, the green opposite Manor Court on Oxford Road, and four city centre streets: the High Street, St Peter’s Street, The Parade and St George’s Street.
Outside the city the lead-only list covers:
- Whitstable Castle Gardens and Bowling Green
- Memorial Park Bowling Green, Herne Bay
- Waltrop Gardens, Central Parade, Herne Bay
- the promenade from Neptune Jetty westwards to Herne Bay Pier
- the promenade level with Pier Avenue west to The Street, Tankerton
- Reculver Towers Heritage Area and the Reculver Country Park picnic areas
- Long Rock nature reserve, Swalecliffe, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Protection Area
- Tyler Hill playing field, Summer Lane
- Sturry Green, Mill Road
- Adisham Recreation Ground
- Ickham village green and churchyard
Where dogs cannot go at all
A second schedule bars dogs from 54 named places. Most are enclosed children’s play areas, and they are spread across every part of the district: Bishops Way, Chineham Way, Edgar Road, Franklyn Road, Hawe Close, Kingsbrooke Park, Kingsmead playing field, Long Meadow Way, Manor Court, Military Road, Querns Road, Spring Lane on Russett Road, St Stephen’s Church Field, Suffolk Road, Tennyson Avenue, Thanington Rec, Toddlers Cove, Vauxhall Avenue, Victoria Rec and Wincheap in Canterbury; Burton Downs, Cherry Orchard Rec, Collins Road, Hampton Pleasure Grounds, Honeysuckle Way, Memorial Park and Tower and Waltrop Garden around Herne Bay; Chestfield Rec, Columbia Avenue, Cornwallis Circle, Lucerne Drive, Plough Lane, Seeshill Close, Victoria Street and Westmeads Rec in Whitstable; and Ince Road and Park View in Sturry, The Elders in Littlebourne, Tillard Close in Petham, The Red House in Derringstone, the recreation ground play area at Adisham, and Reculver Country Park.
The rest of the list is the part people miss:
- Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable cemeteries. Whitstable has one exception, the public footpath from Millstrood Road to the junction with the footpath at the cemetery’s north east boundary
- The village greens at Barham and Ickham (New Ickham village green is dog-free, while the older Ickham village green and churchyard is lead-only)
- Bridge Recreation Ground and play area, and Littlebourne Recreation Ground play area
- Hersden BMX track and play area
- Sturry Road Community Park garden area, Northgate
- The two seasonal beaches
Two places sit on both lists, which is not a contradiction. At Toddlers Cove and Adisham Recreation Ground the wider site is lead-only, while the enclosed play area inside it is closed to dogs completely.
The rules that apply everywhere
Three parts of the order are not tied to a named location. They apply to all land in the district that the public can get to, with two exceptions: land placed at the disposal of the Forestry Commissioners under the Forestry Act 1967, and agricultural land.
- If a dog fouls, the person in charge of it must remove the mess forthwith
- An authorised council officer can order you to put a dog on a lead anywhere the order applies, if there are reasonable grounds to think it is needed to prevent nuisance, annoyance or disturbance
- Ignoring either is an offence under section 67 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014
The council issues a £100 Fixed Penalty Notice. On summary conviction the fine can reach level 3 on the standard scale, which is £1,000.
Assistance dog owners are exempt. The order does not apply to people registered blind, to deaf people relying on a dog trained by Hearing Dogs for Deaf People (charity 293358), or to people whose disability affects mobility, manual dexterity, physical coordination or the ability to lift and carry, where the dog was trained by Dogs for the Disabled (700454), Support Dogs Limited (1088281) or Canine Partners for Independence (803680).
What the council wants to change
The council is not proposing to scrap the order. It says it wants “a small number of changes, including pulling together maps for specific locations to give dog owners more clarity, and removing some areas that no longer seem suited to the order”.
It has not published which areas those are. That is what the consultation is for, and it asks three things: whether you support the principle of the order, where you have had problems, and what the next order should cover.
What it means for you
If you walk a dog in the district, the practical points are these.
You have until 9am on Thursday 1 October to respond, through the council’s online survey, by email or on paper. If a site on either list is wrong for your neighbourhood, whether that is a cemetery footpath, a rec that no longer needs the ban or a play area that does, this is the window in which saying so counts.
Until 30 September, keep off the two beaches. From 1 October both are open to dogs again, and stay open until 1 May 2027.
Check the current order rather than relying on signs. Several sites in the lead-only schedule are ordinary city centre streets, which is not obvious on the ground.
You may also find our guides to parking in Canterbury and bin collection days useful.
Sources
- Public Spaces Protection Order (Control of Dogs) 2024 (Canterbury City Council, made 3 May 2024)
- New Dog Control Public Space Protection Order consultation (Canterbury City Council)
- Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, section 67
- Criminal Justice Act 1982, section 37 (the standard scale)
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