CITY of Greater Bendigo councillors have endorsed prioritising funding for a new off-leash dog park in Heathcote, but concerns remained around the state of the Depot Road site and further works required at other recently-completed dog parks in Bendigo.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Funding is likely to be provided to the project in Heathcote in the 2019/20 budget for it to become the fourth off-leash dog park in the City of Greater Bendigo following the completion of parks in California Gully and Kangaroo Flat.
Those parks opened earlier this year, but Cr Andrea Metcalf said users had already gotten in touch about the need for infrastructure upgrades.
“Residents that use the one at California Gully have emailed Whipstick Ward councillors about how there needs to be infrastructure at the park in seating and shade,” she said.
“We also need to consider the ongoing cost to making improvements to these parks and the ongoing operation costs.
“Before we commence another one, we need to finish off what we’ve started.”
The matter was brought before Wednesday night’s ordinary meeting of council after a petition with 271 signatures from the Heathcote community was tabled calling for an off-leash dog park.
The Depot Road site contains a large number of rocks and is heavily vegetated, including natives from tree-planting projects.
Cr Yvonne Wrigglesworth said there was planning to do before work could begin and excessive vegetation removal needed to be avoided.
“We know that it is very densely vegetated at the moment and this could provide a risk of concealment for humans and animals,” she said.
“That’s going to need a lot of work if we are to choose such a site.”
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.