Full details have been revealed of the survey that Cornwall Council will use to get the public’s view on dogs on beaches.

The council currently has 48 Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) which apply seasonal restrictions for dogs on beaches across the Duchy.

Those orders are set to expire in 2020 and so the council is undertaking public consultation before it draws up the new PSPOs.

The PSPOs have to be reviewed every three years – last time the council carried out consultation in 2016 it received more than 5,000 responses, one of the largest responses ever received by the council.

As part of the consultation this time the council is asking whether the restrictions should be harmonised so they are the same for all beaches in Cornwall.

The council said this would make the restrictions easier to understand and easier to ensure compliance.

Public consultation on the orders is set to be launched in August but the council has already undertaken consultation with town and parish councils and beach owners.

Most of the responses indicated that they would like to maintain the current orders and just five wanted to harmonise the restrictions. Porth Chapel has asked that the restrictions be removed.

In the proposed survey for the wider public consultation the council is planning to ask whether more or less beaches should have restrictions and also whether there should be blanket start and finish dates for the restrictions – the example used suggests from May 1 to September 30.

The council will also ask which month the restrictions should start – April, May, June or July – and when they should end – August, September, October or November.

And respondents will also be asked about the times of day the restrictions should start – 7am, 8am, 9am or 10am – and finish – 5pm, 6pm, 7pm or 8pm.

The survey will also ask whether the times should be harmonised across all beaches to which they apply.

People will be able to respond to the consultation in August and September and responses will be reported back to the council’s neighbourhoods overview and scrutiny committee which will discuss whether changes should be made for the PSPOs when they start in April 2020.

The planned consultation is due to be discussed by the committee when it meets next Thursday (July 18).