Planning underway for new dog parks in region

THE City of Greater Geelong Council has taken a step towards the creation of new dog parks across the region, releasing a draft set of guidelines for community feedback.

The document will guide the future development of fenced dog parks, including location, design, education and management.

It has been created in response to strong community feedback, as a way to offer suitable areas for off-leash exercise and socialisation of dogs. A survey by the City of  617 dog owners found clear support for the development of extra dog parks, with 84 per cent in favour.

Greater Geelong is home to more than 34,500 registered dogs, a figure that is expected to rise further as the city’s population increases.

Of these, the most are in Lara (2,649), followed by Highton/Wandana Heights (2,636), Ocean Grove (2,563) and Leopold (2,067).

The draft guidelines set out a series of recommendations, including:

• New fenced dog parks should be strategically located across the region at sites central to the dog population;
• Each new park should service a cluster of suburbs;
• The minimum size of a new dog park should be 3,000 square metres; and
• They should be located within larger open space areas, at accessible and highly visible sites.

The report states that the creation of extra dog parks would complement, not replace, existing off-leash areas at the region’s reserves and beaches. Estimates suggest construction of each new park would cost around $300,000.

Feedback during the four-week engagement period will be considered for the final guidelines, to be presented to Council early in 2019.