Bellarine Peninsula dog owners will have more options to exercise their canines after council last week announced plans for three new fenced parks.
While specific locations are yet to be decided, southern Bellarine Peninsula, Lara and south of the Barwon River have been identified as priority areas for the parks.
The three areas on the Bellarine earmarked for the park are:
land between Emperor Drive and Tuckfield Street, Ocean Grove
Lake Avenue Reserve, 36-66 Blue Waters Drive, Ocean Grove
Edsall Reserve, 1192-1210 Bellarine Hwy, Wallington.
The aim eventually is for all residents across the municipality to have reasonable access to a fenced dog park for socialising and exercising their dog, council said.
City of Greater Geelong staff will now to carry out a detailed analysis in each priority area. This process will include community engagement.
Funding for delivery of the new dog parks is being sought through the development of the 2019-20 council budget.
The guidelines were developed following a survey of dog owners that found 84 per cent support for the development of more fenced dog parks in Greater Geelong.
A draft set of guidelines was released for public feedback during November last year, receiving 40 responses, mostly positive. This has resulted in the final document being adopted without any changes.
The guidelines call for any new fenced dog parks to be strategically located across Greater Geelong, in areas with high populations of dogs.
They state that the facilities should be located within larger open space areas, at accessible and highly visible sites, and that they should service a cluster of suburbs.
The only existing facility in the region is at Stead Park in Corio. Any new fenced dog parks would not replace existing off-leash areas.
Greater Geelong is home to more than 34,500 registered dogs, a figure that is rising along with the human population.
The most registered dogs are in Lara (2649), followed by Highton/Wandana Heights (2636), Ocean Grove (2563) and Leopold (2067).
“Dog parks are known to increase physical activity levels and improve the health and wellbeing of dog walkers, including children,” said Deputy Mayor Peter Murrihy, Co-Chair, Social and Infrastructure Planning.
“City of Greater Geelong staff will now analyse Lara, south of the Barwon River and the southern Bellarine Peninsula for appropriate spaces, with the help of further community engagement.”
