By SONJA KOREMANS
YOU own a dog, you’d like to walk it off-leash in the region and that’s a reasonable request. But forget about it for another year.
There are plenty of dogs on the Southern Downs – and no off-leash parks.
That’s how the Southern Downs Regional Council plans to keep it, claiming dog facilities are an expense it can’t afford in this year’s budget to be handed down at the end of the month.
For years, local dog owners have raised the need for designated off-leash areas, and where the best sites for such facilities would be.
The issue was unleashed last budget, with council declining – but indicating it may be on the agenda this year.
“The council understands that having off-leash dog parks would be a valuable community asset and would take this into account for the 15/16 financial year,” a council spokesman said at the time.
Southern Free Times asked SDRC mayor Peter Blundell whether he plans to consider off-leash areas this year.
“The dog park issue is raised regularly and from a priority point of view, it’s not up there at the moment,” Cr Blundell said.
“It is an expense and an ongoing maintenance issue. If we create dog parks, it’s not just about putting up a park and a fence and leaving it. The parks need to be maintained and depreciate over time.
“I’m well aware that they are implemented in other areas, but when you are dealing with the sort of debt scenarios that we are, it’s not something that we will be putting high on the list.”
Well there you have it, Cr Blundell couldn’t be clearer. “No.”
About 2000 dogs are registered in Warwick, with hundreds of warnings issued to owners walking pets off-leash in public areas each year.
Join the conversation on dog parks, and lack of them, on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/SouthernFreeTimes
