Mona Vale and Palm beaches: Push for off-leash dog areas reaches next stage
A lengthy lobbying effort for authorities to set aside sections of Sydney surf beaches for dogs to roam off-leash may be delayed by new bureaucratic hurdles.
Manly
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Residents pushing for space on two popular Sydney surf beaches to be set aside for dog owners to exercise their pets look set to be waiting up to another 12 months for an outcome.
Due to a raft of bureaucratic hoops that have to be jumped through by local authorities, proposed trials of off-leash dogs areas on Mona Vale and Palm beaches are still out of reach, for now.
Northern Beaches Council passed a motion at its Tuesday night meeting, on a motion to begin negotiations with the NSW Government’s Crown Lands office to “obtain care, control and management of as much land as is necessary” to hold the year-long trials.
As part of the lengthy motion, the council will begin steps to set aside portions of the northern end of Palm Beach, and the south end of Mona Vale Beach, for dogs to swim and run, without a leash.
It has been proposed that dogs would be able to roam freely on designated parts of the beaches from 4pm to 10am, seven days a week.
This renewed off-leash push comes as the council, in 2020, was criticised by the Land and Environment Court for allowing a trial for unleashed dogs on Station Beach, on Pittwater, at Palm Beach.
The court found that the council should have undertaken an Environmental Impact Study into how dogs would impact seagrass beds and fish habitats before approving a 12-month off-leash trial in August 2019. It also found the council did not conduct enough public consultation before approving the trial.
Critics of the trials have said that letting the dogs on the beaches would impact wildlife, including a seal colony on Barrenjoey Headland as well as birdlife and dune vegetation.
In a report to the elected council, its staff have advised that a current plan of management for Governor Phillip Park at Palm Beach needed to be updated and a draft plan of management for Mona Vale Beach needed to be prepared.
“Detailed investigations have also been undertaken that have identified that there are several
steps required before Council could be in a position to make a lawful decision regarding
proceeding with an off-leash trial,” the report stated.
Mitch Geddes, a committee member of Pittwater Unleaded, a lobby group pushing for the off-leash beaches, said before the meeting that updating the plan of management covering North Palm Beach would likely take another year.
Mr Geddes described the lobbying effort as a “long struggle” and that dogs had died, whose owners thought would, one day, benefit from the off-leash beaches.
He noted that people who took their dogs onto beaches risked a $600 fine.
“The fight goes on.
“When we take this blanket ban mentality that has applied on the northern beaches, it leaves one giant-sized cohort out in the cold.
“We just don’t get to share in the environment that is there to enjoy.
“I don’t expect we’ll be enjoying this summer on those sections of beach, but we’re in for the long haul.
“We’re not going to pack up our bat and ball and go home just because there’s a bit of dissent.”
Resident Russell Phegan told the council meeting that allowing the trials would lead to the “destruction of out greatest asset”.
Mr Phegan sai as well as dog faeces fouling the beaches, dogs would chase wildlife and potentially “bite people”.
On its website, the Palm Beach Protection Group, which opposes the off-leash trials, stated that it “remains adamant that rigorous process must be undertaken by Council regarding off-leash dog activity for the sake of ensuring that our beach environment is protected for future generations”.
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