Eastbourne recognised in Dog Friendly Awards

The awards ceremony was held at the Kennel Club’s Headquarters in London, and organised by DogFriendly.co.uk, to recognise destinations across the country that offer outstanding services and are welcoming to both pooches and their owners.

The winner of the City/Town category was Girvan in Scotland followed by Bury St Edmunds in second place and Eastbourne in third.

The bronze award follows an initiative to make Eastbourne one of the top destinations for dog owners and their pets. The result of partnership working, a series of projects in recent months has seen the launch of a new Dog Friendly Guide informing people about dog friendly facilities – from hotels and restaurants to kennels and groomers – along with a Dog Friendly Eastbourne recognition scheme using window stickers.

The initiatives were made possible after the volunteer-led Friends of Eastbourne Seafront group was awarded money from the VisitEastbourne Tourism Development Fund, a funding scheme designed to increase footfall and visitor spend in the town.

Last month another new initiative funded by VisitEastbourne– a Dog Fayre – was held at the Chatsworth Hotel on Eastbourne seafront attended by dog owners and their four-legged friends and hailed an enormous success.

Gaynor Sedgewick from the Friends of Eastbourne Seafront accepted the award at the ceremony on behalf of VisitEastbourne.