Why is Council changing the off-leash area at Thomas H Halton Park?
Thomas H Halton Park (located at Bareki Road, Eleebana) is one of three major destination parks in Lake Macquarie (along with Speers Point Park and Rathmines Park) and has been embellished over the years in line with this status. At Thomas H Halton Park people love to bring their dogs for a walk and enjoy some outdoor time. Families, cyclists, and others also use the park for fun and exercise.
To make sure everyone can enjoy the park safely, we're making some changes to the dog off-leash area:
- The path next to the playground is now dog on-leash, complying with the Companion Animal Act 1998 that requires a 10-meter buffer between playgrounds and dog off-leash areas.
- A small part near the batball court and barbecue is also now dog on-leash.
- The bushland area to the north of the park is no longer dog off-leash. This bushland is home to native flora and fauna making it unsuitable as an off-leash area.
The timing for the remaining off-leash continues to be the same:
- Sunrise to 10am every day
- 4:30pm to sunset Monday to Friday
- Excluding public holidays.
The fenced dog park at the southern end of the park remains unchanged.
This change to the timed dog off-leash area was recommended in the recently adopted Dogs in Open Spaces Strategy.
Why do we need a Dogs in Open Space Strategy?
Lake Macquarie has more than 92,000 dogs and a population of almost 215,000, making dog owners a key user of our open spaces.
With a growing population, smaller living spaces and finite open space, Council needs to plan strategically for the future provision of open spaces for dogs to exercise.
The strategy, adopted by Council in March 2023, is a 10-year plan, which applies to open spaces owned or managed by Council, including parks, bushland, sportsgrounds, foreshores and beaches.
The strategy provides a framework that includes site suitability criteria, provision and embellishment standards and is underpinned by a vision statement and objectives.
When will signs be installed at other locations?
We will be rolling out the updated signage over the coming years. Redhead Beach was the first location to have the new signage installed when recommended changes were implemented in November 2023. Thomas H Halton Park is the second location to have changes implemented and new signage installed.
In the coming months, Council will be implementing new dog off-leash areas at Myuna Bay Foreshore and Nords Wharf Oval and relocating the dog off-leash area at Morisset from Bernie Goodwin Oval to Gibson Oval. Other priority locations will follow in the years to come.
In what open spaces are dogs allowed to be exercised on-leash?
Dogs are allowed on-leash in all open spaces that are not prohibited areas as currently defined in the Companion Animals Act 1998, Council's Dog Policy and/or Plan of Management for specific areas.
What are dog prohibited areas and where are they?
Dog prohibited areas are open spaces where dogs are not permitted.
Under the Companion Animals Act 1998, dogs are prohibited in the following places (whether or not they are leashed or otherwise controlled):
- Within 10m of any children’s play areas (playing apparatus)
- Within 10m of any food preparation or food consumption spaces (not including public pathways).
Under the Act, councils also have the authority to prohibit dogs from other public spaces including:
- Recreation spaces including sports fields where organised games are played
- Public bathing spaces (including beach spaces)
- Wildlife protection spaces (such as shorebird nesting habitats on the beaches and rock platforms of the LGA).
The strategy proposes the following open space areas to be dog prohibited:
- Green Point Foreshore Reserve, Belmont (existing)
- Pirrita Island, Swansea
- Biodiversity offset sites at
-
- Jewells
- Valentine
- Awaba
- Ryhope
- Within 400m of a patrolled beach area.