A Warilla couple would love to be able to take their playful pooch Jax for a run at an off-leash park closer to their home.
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Ashleigh and Dean Irvine often have to travel to different suburbs to let Jax off the leash which is why they hope a proposal to establish a dog park at Shellharbour War Memorial Park gets off the ground and is allocated funding this financial year.
"We usually take Jax for a walk along the beach but he is always on a lead," Mrs Irvine said.
"He is always itching to get off the lead and loves to run but there aren't that many places where he can do that legally.
"We often take him to the Bass Point Tourist Road off-leash zone or to a grass area near a skate park but then we have to be careful of traffic and it is not a designated off-leash area."
Mrs Irvine said she used to take Jax to an off-leash park in Flinders but that became too inconvenient.
That's why she would wholeheartedly support a new off-leash zone and agility park in Warilla.
In May, Shellharbour City councillors asked staff to prepare a report on the potential time of delivery, and cost of establishing a dog agility and off-leash park at Shellharbour War Memorial Park, Warilla and at Croom Regional Sporting Complex in Croom.
In a report to be tabled and debated at Tuesday's council meeting, staff have estimated establishing the parks at Warilla and Croom would cost $100,000 each, with between $5000 to $10,000 for ongoing maintenance per year.
That is based on the costs associated for building the Oak Flats Dog Agility Park.
The new parks would likely include perimeter fencing, segregation fencing for small and large animals, creation of a small pathway, installation of agility equipment, dog bubblers, seating, double gates at dog park entry points, and a vehicle gate.
Mrs Irvine said she would love to see the area fenced as well as resourced with fresh water and dog poo bags.
The reports notes there are currently no funds allocated for the establishment of new dog-friendly spaces in the city.
If councillors decide to proceed with the Warilla or Croom facilities, then funding would need to be provided through the usual quarterly budget review process, and the projects scheduled on the works program.
If no changes are made to the 2020/2021 budget, it is expected that the Warilla dog agility park and off-leash area could be delivered during the 2021/2022 financial year.
The proposed Warilla dog-friendly space is located at the northern end of the park, at the opposite end to the Freedom Wall.
The possible establishment of a dog-friendly space at this site would require community engagement about whether the location of the dog agility park and off-leash area within the locality of the greater park creates unintentional disrespect.
Community and RSL Warilla sub-branch stakeholders would be consulted.
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