Compromise could be reached on dog ban.

DOG lovers who are subject to a controversial blanket ban on walking their pets along a Northumberland beach are hoping for a compromise following a council shake-up.

The ban - which threatens owners with a pounds 75 fine if they take their dogs onto the sand at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea on any day of the year - was imposed by the former Wansbeck Council in March 2008 despite a 1,000-name protest petition.

Dog lovers, who were supported by local MP Denis Murphy, claimed the ban was too draconian and called for a compromise allowing dogs to be exercised on a section of the beach, or during the winter months.

Now they have been promised a full review of the ban by the unitary county council, which came into being in April following the abolition of the district authorities.

In March this year a number of local dog owners risked fines by deliberately flouting the ban to mark the first anniversary of its introduction.

Newbiggin's badly-eroded beach was regenerated in 2007 by importing 500,000 tonnes of sand from Lincolnshire as part of a pounds 16m maritime engineering project funded by Defra.

Wansbeck Council argued a blanket ban on dogs was the only effective way of ensuring that the sands remain clean and safe for families to enjoy.

Yesterday Newbiggin school caretaker Colin Hawkshaw, one of those who organised the protest petition, said: "We have asked the county council to review this ban and are waiting to see what will happen. All we want is some sort of compromise and at least the new council seems to be listening to us."

Local county councillor Alan Thompson, a member of the Lib Dem administration at County Hall, said: "This is on our list of things to review. I personally believe there should be some sort of compromise here, and if people make representations to us we are obliged to listen."

Victoria Barrington, head of public protection at the council, said it was reviewing all dog control orders under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act in Northumberland.