Dog walkers and non-dog walkers will be consulted on what could be Poole’s first year-round dog ban on part of Sandbanks beach.

Borough of Poole’s cabinet has agreed to go ahead with a consultation exercise on imposing a dog free zone on 321 metres, less than six per cent, of the beach.

It is an issue that arouses strong passions among dog walkers and other beach users and there is currently a seasonal ban along Poole’s beaches of golden sand from May 1 to September 30 – with some exceptions.

During the winter there are no restrictions to walking dogs on the popular Blue Flag beaches, but a by-law requires owners to remove their dogs faeces deposited on the sand.

The proposal is to add to the existing by-law, an area in front of the pavilion and car parks, as a year-round dog free zone.

“Recently there has been an increasing number of complaints regarding dogs causing a nuisance to beach visitors and fouling beaches during the winter period,” said Cllr John Rampton, chairman of the environment overview and scrutiny committee in his report.

“Whilst the majority of dog owners respect the dog by-laws and other beach users, there remains a significant minority of owners who ignore the health and safety of others.

“There is significant demand from families, individuals and those with young children to see the introduction of a small area of beach that is dog free all year round.”

However, dog owners such as Gary Dalkin of Bournemouth have described such by-laws as “apartheid” against dog owners. “Ban my dog and you ban me,” he said.

Consultation will be carried out by environmental and consumer protection services and the final decision will be made by full council.