Creative Rural Communities Launches Dog Friendly Pilot
What does it take for a destination to be friendly to dogs and for dogs to be friendly to the destination?
Creative Rural Communities, the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s rural regeneration initiative, is launching a Dog Friendly Pilot in the rural Vale of Glamorgan to find out!
The pilot will look at the pros and cons of being dog friendly in the Vale of Glamorgan, learning from other examples around the UK and defining what ‘dog friendly’ actually means. What does dog friendly accommodation look like? What can visitors and their dogs do when they visit the Vale? How can they find out where the best walks are?
In addition to identifying dog friendly features, the pilot will look to promote the importance of responsible dog ownership. For example, making sure that owners are aware where dogs can be allowed off their leads and where they have to stay on their leads, and that owners pick up after their dogs.
Following the initial piece of research, a number of the factors identified will be introduced for local businesses to trial. This will take place between October 2016 and January 2017, to see how they work in practice.
Cllr Lis Burnett, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said: “We hope that this pilot will benefit many businesses in the Vale of Glamorgan, including those that are already dog friendly and those that have never considered what it means. It will be a fantastic opportunity to learn how we can tap into ways of attracting more visitors and their dogs to the region, with responsible dog ownership in mind.”
The Dog Friendly Pilot has received funding from the Vale of Glamorgan Council and the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2014 – 2020, which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and administered by Creative Rural Communities.
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