Pittwater Life May 2019 Issue
2019 Federal Election. Mackellar Candidates. Author Meg Keneally. National Volunteer Week. Help our Farmers. Dog Water Parks. Vanessa Amorosi. Retro Van Fun.
2019 Federal Election. Mackellar Candidates. Author Meg Keneally. National Volunteer Week. Help our Farmers. Dog Water Parks. Vanessa Amorosi. Retro Van Fun.
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Dog water parks to make s<br />
After decades of local<br />
government inaction,<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> dog owners<br />
could soon be spoilt for choice<br />
about where to walk their pets<br />
offleash – with the prospect of<br />
bespoke ‘dog water parks’ even<br />
being mooted by Northern<br />
Beaches councillors.<br />
Last month Council rubberstamped<br />
a fenced-off section<br />
of Avalon Beach Reserve as a<br />
permanent offleash dog area<br />
following extensive community<br />
consultation and an almost<br />
year-long trial.<br />
Also, Council is currently<br />
poring over environmental assessments<br />
relating to the proposed<br />
12-month offleash trial<br />
at Station Beach, which had<br />
received 90 per cent support<br />
from the community when the<br />
consultation period ended at<br />
the end of February.<br />
At its March meeting, Council<br />
voted to have staff prepare<br />
them a report with options “on<br />
DOG’S LIFE:<br />
An example of<br />
a water park<br />
in the US.<br />
providing a park with water<br />
features for dogs, with a range<br />
of water supplies, from innovative<br />
to traditional”.<br />
The initiative was led by<br />
deputy mayor Sue Heins and<br />
Frenchs Forest Ward councilor<br />
Penny Philpott.<br />
Dog water parks are popular<br />
in inland areas of the UK, USA<br />
and in European countries<br />
including Spain.<br />
Cr Heins told <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong>:<br />
“The thought pattern is we<br />
have 21 beaches and that number<br />
won’t increase, but people<br />
will always want to have water<br />
facilities for their dogs and for<br />
their dogs to be able to swim.<br />
We are going to need to start<br />
thinking differently about<br />
what else can do.”<br />
She said it would be an<br />
“extreme extravagance” to contemplate<br />
building water parks<br />
in the immediate future.<br />
“But down the track in five<br />
to 10 years there is going to be<br />
a real pressure on our natural<br />
resources.”<br />
She agreed some of the<br />
parks overseas were “really<br />
over the top – with swimming<br />
pools and toys and floating devices<br />
for dogs and people and<br />
all kinds of interesting things”.<br />
Cr Heins doesn’t believe<br />
dog water parks would replace<br />
dogs’ access to beaches.<br />
“I think it’s as an addition –<br />
the pure joy of a dog swimming<br />
in waterways is very<br />
special,” she said.<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> Unleashed spokesman<br />
Mitch Geddes said: “It<br />
is very reassuring to have<br />
the Deputy <strong>May</strong>or acknowledge<br />
the pressing need for<br />
restoring some balance to our<br />
open space policy, but we are<br />
unaware of any call from the<br />
public for facilities of the kind<br />
contemplated here.<br />
“If we were in Arizona or Ne-<br />
News<br />
6 MAY <strong>2019</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
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