General News
17 April, 2025
No action on dog park fence for Atherton
NO changes will be made to the Atherton off-leash dog park until a review is completed of Tablelands Regional Council’s Planning Scheme and local laws.
Council officers were last month asked to investigate installing a temporary fence at the Platypus Park off-leash facility to separate smaller dogs from bigger dogs, and also asked why a report, requested in August last year, on the feasibility of establishing an off-leash dog park and amenities in the park on Solar Crescent/Planet Avenue had not been forthcoming.
At the March meeting, a report advised that due to the existing dog park being on heritage-listed land which was “currently subject to confidential discussions”, council would be required to apply for a Heritage Exemption Certificate through the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation.
In 2024, officers pursued the matter with the department which provided an exemption certificate with the condition that TRC would need to organise training for officers performing works and have relevantly qualified representatives on site.
Officers also found that only seven requests had been made between January 2020 and March this year relating to dogs being aggressive or rushing. Officers advised that those dog owners who lodged a complaint were divided on their support for a fence.
“This suggests that both sides of the project request are represented by constituents and an overall community engagement would be required for the one-off project,” a council report explained.
Cr Kevin Cardew, who put forward the request for the temporary fence on behalf of some dog owners, said the fence was “a simple request” and he did not think the matter should be so complicated.
Chief executive officer Nikola Stepanov said nothing in local government “was easy” and added she had received feedback from members of the public who believed the issue came down to “active dogs and inactive dogs”, rather than the size of the animals.
Cr Con Spanos said he would rather the council’s resources be directed towards identifying a new location for an off-leash dog park, noting the constraints of the current site with its heritage status, and complaints that it was regularly quite muddy.
The report advised that due to the lack of customer requests received, heritage requirements, dog owner’s obligations under the Animal Management Act 2008, confidential discussions concerning the associated land parcel and no program of works in council’s project register, it was recommended that council not progress with a dividing fence.
Instead, council would continue to operate the current dog park and off leash areas in their current state until a full-service review could be completed in conjunction with the Planning Scheme and Local Law review.
Officers also reported on the feasibility of establishing another off-leash dog park and amenities within the the park on Solar Crescent/Planet Avenue.
The report outlined a number of actions that would be required including ensuring separation of at least 10m from the dog park to the playground, developing a land management plan, amending a local law to reflect the new dog park, and investigating sewerage, water and power connections to an amenity block.
