Roches Beach DOG FREE ZONE IS UNACCEPTABLE

Coming from Ballarat Victoria to live in Tasmania is a blessing. As a NZ born child who was brought up by the sea I have spent the majority of my life away from it. It use to take us 2.75 hours to travel to the beach where we had a holiday cabin within 15 mins of a dog beach with our dogs.
We purchased our house in Lauderdale entirely so we could just walk across the road, up past a few houses and down the track to the beach. No more having to get in the car and drive kilometres was pure heaven. We are a retired couple 70 and 65 and physically not getting any younger. The prospect of having to drive up to the canal find parking so we can exercise our dogs on the boring pristine area of Roches beach because of this ‘ridiculous’ decision to exclude dogs from the right of canal is simply horrifying. We can’t also be expected to walk to the canal via the footpath and then beyond the canal then back on footpath to get home, it is simply too far for us.

We did not purchase this house thinking that a council would do do this, it makes no sense and have to wonder who in this area has been consulted about this.

This section of the beach is not as family friendly and as nice looking as the section you are considering as making dog friendly all year. Did council also not consider the young man who lost his life opposite the Wateredge Court entrance to Roches beach due to a stingray/skate barb. My daughter and partner have snorkelled near that area and also commented that they habitat around the grassy rocky area there.

There are going to be many people who do not see this survey or have access to a computer and I certainly hope you will be doing a mail out and offer people another option to give you their views. I’m sure there are many non dog owners who will also want to state why they don’t want dogs on the beach ever, but they also have a right to put their grievances forward.

I also understood that before we got here there was also an opposite plan, ie that this end of Roches beach was touted has being dog friendly all year round but was scuttled because a non dog owner got a petition together and the council backed down ?????