Dogs will almost certainly be banned from Caroline Bay over summer after a pitch to change a Timaru District Council bylaw was dropped after protests from penguin protection groups.

Instead, dog exclusion zones are likely to be established at either end of the bay and signs will educate beach users about their responsibilities.

The signs will also make it clear why the exclusions exists: they will protect the little blue penguins that make the bay their summer home.

DOUG FIELD Timaru Penguins co-ordinator Peter Bennett, near the Caroline Bay little blue penguin nesting area. He is relieved Timaru District councillors have recommended not allowing dogs on the beach during summer.

The council's environmental services committee on Tuesday voted to maintain the status quo and continue the summertime ban on dogs.

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​The move followed protests and petitions from people who did not want the rule relaxed to the possible peril of little blue penguins that nest at Caroline Bay.

MTYCHALL BRANSGROVE/FAIRFAX NZ Councillor Sally Parker with her dog Charlie on Caroline Bay.

The all-of-council committee recommended the full council retain the bylaw that says dogs are prohibited from the bay from October 1 to March 31.

Last year, Councillor Sally Parker backed calls for the summer hours to be extended. On Tuesday, she voted to keep things as they are.

Parker was grateful for what she had learned about the penguins; she wished no harm to penguins and did not want "to lose what we've already got".

Councillor Peter Lyon told the committee feedback from penguin advocates reinforced the need not to extend access.

He was also "firmly of the belief" that summertime at the bay was a time for children and families play on the beach and in the sand.

He was not keen on his grandchildren playing on sand after dogs had been there. Dog walking access should be maintained, but not extended into summer.

Councillor David Jack, a dog owner, commended Parker for promoting the community debate on extended dog access but said the outcome was clear.

The current bylaw was not broken, and maintaining it would help protect the penguins that were finally leaving Oamaru and coming to Timaru.

Mayor Damon Odey, also an advocate for the current bylaw, said the widely understood rules needed to be supplemented with control areas and education signs.

Such no-go zones for dogs could be established and perhaps marked with rope at the rocks - penguin nesting - end of the beach, Odey said.

The creek at the other end of the beach would provide the other do-not-cross zone. Education, via signs, would be key to making the zones work.

Councillor Nigel Bowen said it was a "no brainer" that the sensitive nesting areas be protected year-round.

They provided protection for a special natural resource that was becoming a great opportunity for tourism, he said.

The committee recommended the council create two year-round protected penguin areas, with signs, at each end of the bay.

A narrow, perhaps 10m-wide strip would run parallel to Marine Parade. Access would be provided to the beach, but not through the nesting area.

The other zone would begin on the cliffs side of the creek.

Councillor Andrea Leslie asked whether the bylaw was of a kind that would need to be policed.

Committee chairman Kerry Stevens said it was, though it was unlikely to be able to enforced 24/7. It was a bylaw that focused on the principle.

The committee also recommended the council add another beach access route for dog walkers.

The route would cut through the underpass at the bottom of Wai-iti Rd to follow the path to the beach.

Councillor Steve Wills warned that would send dogs through the Caroline Bay entertainment area; Odey pointed out the area was a natural, massive collector area for walkers.

That route also took dog walkers further away from the proposed no dog zone, Odey said.

Timaru Penguins and Forest & Bird South Canterbury opposed the proposal to extend dog walking into summer.

Online and hard copy petitions generated about 2000 signatures by this week in what organisers called an "overwhelming" show of support.

Timaru Penguins co-ordinator Peter Bennett was "absolutely rapt" with the committee's decision.

He hoped that meant the full council would follow the committee's lead and vote to retain the status quo.

"It's brilliant and we're absolutely rapt that the [committee] has had a serious look at the issue and recognised that the status quo is the right decision."

Bennett said the community support had been "very good".

"I also take my hat off to Sally Parker who recognised the issue and decided to vote to keep things the way they are."

Forest and Bird South Canterbury committee member Kimberly Collins said hoped the council would consult further on the signs and the safe zones.

The recommendation sat alongside the Caroline Bay Management Plan, which says the council has a responsibility to conserve and enhance native species and their habitats in the area.

"We're grateful for the public support - the next step is the council meeting to carry through with the recommendation," she said.

Timaru Penguins and Forest & Bird South Canterbury will deliver their petition to the council on February 26.

