Public says no to 24-hour Edithvale dog beach; Kingston Council wants to consult again

THOUSANDS of locals had their say on Kingston Council’s plan for a 24-hour dog beach at Edithvale, with ‘no’ voters tipping the scale. But councillors have decided to embark on another round of resident consultation.

ALMOST 2000 locals had their say on Kingston Council’s plans for a 24-hour dog beach at Edithvale — and just 68 submissions separated the yes and no voters.

In what has become a heated, contentious issue, the ‘no’ lobby pushed ahead by a whisker.

But councillors have baulked at making the call and have decided to embark on another round of resident consultation.

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A six-week consultation, including an online survey, finished with 1870 submissions received — 969 against. The majority of responses came from Edithvale residents with 546 (35 per cent of all responses) having their say. Of those 326 opposed the plan.

A group of dog owners fought the proposal for the permanent leash-free zone between Somme Lane and Bristol Ave, saying the move would lead to more dog attacks, discourage other beach users and threaten vegetation and wildlife.

Last week the council officers recommended councillors scrap the idea in light of “significant segments of the community” flagging concerns.

But Cr Georgina Oxley urged a delay on making a decision until south ward councillors David Eden — who initiated the proposal — and Tamsin Bearsley were present. Cr Eden did not attend the September 24 meeting because he was unwell and Cr Bearsley was on holiday.

“I would like the three of us to be able to discuss it with councillors at a CIS (private council briefing),” Cr Oxley said.

Cr Ron Brownlees also wanted to give the community a chance to meet all the south ward councillors “in an open forum” prior to a vote on the proposal.

Cr Geoff Gledhill agreed and said while some may see a delay as “a little bit frustrating” it showed residents that “as a council we really do want to listen to them and have their feedback”.

The council plans to hold another meeting before October 22.

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