THE pros and cons of having a dog festival on Coronation Park will be explored when Dart­mouth Town Council’s general purposes committee meets next week.

Councillors will discuss a proposal to hold a one-day dog show, Woofstock UK, on the park in August next year.

Some have already expressed concern over problems of dog poo, car parking and the suitability of the family site for such an event. However, organiser Heather Nesbitt, from Black­awton, has given assurances over the management of the show and its clean up responsibilities.

And councillors’ negative comments have been met with some surprise by dog lovers, who posted their reactions on the Chronicle’s website and social media, as well as some of the town’s business community.

Dog owner Paul Reach said on his Dartmouth Business News blog: ‘We are astounded at the reaction of town councillors who put a damper on this event which could bring 2,000 visitors to Dartmouth and help businesses that are struggling against the difficult economic hangover from Brexit.

‘Some of the arguments put forward by councillors are laughable.

‘August brings in 60,000 people to the regatta, so should we stop that too? Also in peak season, the Dartmouth railway company brings in 3,000 people per day. Show some common sense please.

‘The park and ride copes with regatta and this event will attract significantly less numbers than that.

‘Regatta left Coronation Park in a terrible state after last year’s event and it took an estimated £17,000 to repair it. Was that okay?’

Mr Reach added: ‘Dartmouth is a great destination for dog owners and is one of the reasons many people come here for the fabulous walks in the area.

‘I find it incredible that the town council can fail to support an event that could help the economy of Dartmouth and this illustrates again that they do not have empathy with businesses in the town.’

Simon Hart, an artist and designer, and his wife Theresa were among more than 30 readers who commented on the Chronicle’s website.

Simon said: ‘As residents of Dartmouth, we have contributed artwork for several festivals in the town.

‘We have no doubt Woofstock which we have exhibited at would be a great bonus for the towns identity and 100 per cent confidence in the abilities of the organisation behind the event.’

Theresa added: ‘We have exhibited at a previous Woof­stock and last weekend at DogFest Windsor. Woofstock has superior organisation, communication, attention to detail, safety and hygiene.’

Denise House commented: ‘I’ve heard nothing but good stories about this event, so I am planning to travel from Essex to attend. Surely the event will bring business to the local community which is a good thing with all the uncertainty of what’s going on in Britain nobody is in a position to turn business away.

‘The event raises money for some excellent charities too.’

Ethel, from the Netherlands, commented: ‘All dog events we’ve been to have been great and I don’t get why anyone would think this edition of Woofstock would be different.

‘We actually plan to go on holiday to the UK next year because of Woofstock UK.

‘There’s enough negativity around, so why not support an event like Woofstock UK that tries to make the world a bit nicer?’

The general purposes committee meets at the Guildhall on Thursday at 6pm. Members of the public are welcome to attend.