I have today been in contact with the relevant councillors and departments of East Suffolk Council regarding our petition to change the dog ban on Southwold Beach to May 1st. 

So far we have 520 signatures, we need 1200+ signatures to be automatically referred to the Full Council for consideration and debate. The good news is that the petition can be continued until June in order to gain more signatures, as tonights council meeting is not the deciding factor for the ban, its just a cabinet meeting to raise the topic and our petition is being mentioned in the meeting. I will copy and paste the email from the council below, so if any of you would like to tune in or attend the meeting this evening at 6pm, details are below. 

Please keep sharing and raising awareness for the petition and lets see if we can attain the 1200+ signatures before the June deadline. Many thanks for your support. 

Jenny 

From ESDC:

Dear Jenny,

 

Thank you for your email and petition.

 

I have set out below the process under our petition scheme for your information.  Further details can be found on the East Suffolk Council website here.

 

With regards to what happens next with your submitted petition, please find below the relevant section from the Petition Scheme:

 

7. How will the Council deal with my petition?

 

7.1 Depending on the number of people that have signed the petition, it will be dealt with in one of the following ways:-

 

7.1.1 If your petition contains less than 50 signatures it will be treated in accordance with the Council’s Compliments & Complaints Procedure. This means it will be referred to the relevant Head of Service for consideration and response. It may also be passed to the relevant Ward Member(s) and town/parish council for their consideration.

 

7.1.2 If your petition has between 50 and 599 signatures it will be referred to the relevant Cabinet Member and Head of Service for a response.

 

7.1.3 If your petition has between 600 and 1199 signatures it will be referred to the Scrutiny Committee for consideration. The Scrutiny Committee can then, if it wishes, refer any specific recommendations to the Cabinet / Council.

 

7.1.4 Petitions with 600 signatures or more may call for evidence from a senior officer. Further information can be found at Section 8 below.

 

7.1.5 If your petition has more than 1200 signatures it will automatically be referred to Full Council for consideration and debate. Further information can be found at Section 9 below.

 

There is no provision for petitions to be debated in Cabinet meetings, therefore Members will not be debating it this evening. At its current position, your petition would be processed under the bold section above 7.1.2. If the petition was to reach 1200 signatures, then it would be considered and debated at a Full Council meeting as stated above in 7.1.5.

 

Our Cabinet meetings are open to the public and you would be very welcome to attend, tonight’s meeting is at East Suffolk House in Melton. Alternatively, you can watch the meeting live on East Suffolk Council’s YouTube page. If your petition was to reach a Full Council meeting you would have the opportunity to present it to all Members of Council, who will then consider and debate the matter.

 

I hope this makes sense, if you have any questions, please just ask and we would be happy to answer. Councillor Noble the Cabinet Member for which this falls under is aware of the petition and will acknowledge receipt during the Cabinet Meeting.

 

Many thanks

Lorraine

 

Lorraine Fitch | Democratic Services Manager

East Suffolk Council