LOCAL businesses have been thrown into an "unknown" place following the recent ban of dogs from sections of Redhead beach.
The ban, which came into effect on November 20, aims to strike a "better balance" between beachgoers and dog lovers.
Jade Dawson runs the popular Christmas photo company JadyBug's Santa on the Beach, which operates from several locations including Redhead beach. Many families pick this location so their pups can be in pictures.
On Monday, she cancelled all dog photos on the beach in what she described as an "ongoing" admin disaster.
Ms Dawson said she had not had many customers cancel because of the ban, but it would not be possible for her to reschedule a lot of dog pictures previously booked at Redhead.
"Unfortunately, I just don't have that time," she said, disappointed to let down customers. "So I will lose some people."
The timing of the announcement had been "difficult", given Jadybug books opened in October and were now almost full.
"If they had advised us in September, this wouldn't have been the case," Ms Dawson said. "Or if they allowed us up until Christmas time [to have pups on the beach]."
The council said they do not expect an impact on "brick-and-mortar businesses".
Murray Ruse, who has owned beachside cafe Cargo Expresso Bar for over six years, said he had not seen a decline in patronage over the first week of the ban, however expected it was coming.
The area where dogs are banned from was previously limited to north of First Creek, meaning walkers and their pooches could head straight off the beach and into the cafe.
Mr Ruse said dog owners - many of which are regular customers who come in several times a week - now had to take a longer route to get to get coffee.
"Now you have to go all the way back to the main road and in through the park. I think that will definitely affect our business. People who want to go on the beach with their dogs may just skip the cafe altogether because it's now quite out of the way," Mr Ruse said.
"We're quite happy to have dogs around here on leads if they don't hassle anyone else," he said of a species that "rarely caused an issues" near the cafe.
But Lake Macquarie council community assets manager Rob Morris said feedback during community consultation showed the public were concerned about "uncontrolled dogs" on the beach.
"We undertook extensive consultation with the community to help shape the Dogs in Open Spaces Strategy and decision-making around locations like Redhead Beach," Mr Morris said.
"We held two phases of community consultation during development of the strategy, and a further phase during the public exhibition period.
"These phases were promoted through our website, social media channels and signs at popular off-leash locations, including Redhead Beach," he said.
Both Mr Ruse and Ms Dawson said they were not directly consulted as business owners.
Ms Dawson said she didn't reasonably expect to be, adding she had a sustained "good working relationship" with the council. Her business, which operates across several locations, is registered to another suburb.
Mr Ruse said he "didn't see the issue" with dogs continuing to be allowed on the beach while on a lead, but that he was not "particularly upset" about the change.
Mr Morris noted Lake Macquarie's off-lead areas at Blacksmiths and Hams beaches have "a significantly greater separation between the patrolled beach area and where dogs are permitted".
