Dogs win official leash free access at Stringer Reserve, Truemans Rd Reserve, BA Cairns Reserve, RM Hooper Reserve
Mornington Peninsula hounds have a new leash free oval and the local council is inviting dog owners to nominate other places where leads are not needed.
South East
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Tails are wagging on the Mornington Peninsula after the local council added a new leash free area and formalised the rules at others.
Dog owners are now also able to nominate an area where they would like to exercise their pooches off lead for the council to consider.
After significant community consultation Fido can now run free for the first time at RM Hooper Reserve in Tuerong and can be off lead without fear of a fine an old cricket oval in Capel Sound and existing sports grounds at Blairgowrie and Flinders.
The newly minted Mornington Peninsula Shire council on Tuesday voted unanimously in favour of changes to its Dogs in Public Places Policy.
Dog owners, including 500 members of Peninsula Positive Paws Dog Club (PPPDC), welcomed the decision.
Club secretary and instructor Karen Nicholls said she had “watched the council meeting nervously and was relieved and grateful” that the changes were adopted unamimously.
“Thank-you on behalf of all the dog owners who utilise these leash free areas, for your dedication and passion of our plight,” Ms Nicholls said.
Leash-free Mornington Peninsula founder Christine Healy said the recomendations being considered by the council were meant to be “administrative”.
“However, when we looked closely there were unintended consequences that would have altered the way dog walkers use these areas,” she said.
“All credit to councillor Andrea Allen for both bringing it to our attention and developing ammendments that reflect actual use.”
Ms Allen ushered though changes to formalise how dogs were exercised at Truemans Rd Reserve in Capel Sound and Stringer Road Reserve in Blairgowrie.
She said dogs had been leash free on the decommissioned cricket oval at Truemans Rd since at least 2010 but the ground was not included in the policy.
The council has also applied for state government cash to upgrade a dog park at the reserve so it “made sense” to ensure the leash-free signs at the old oval were gazetted “in anticipation”, Ms Allen said.
Poor signage at Stringer Road Reserve had created confusion and Ms Allen wanted new signs and changes to the policy to allow leash free access, expect around the tennis courts, community garden, toilet block and the oval when it was being used for sport.
Councillor David Gill also won support for changes to a leash free area at BA Cairns Reserve at Flinders to allow dogs to run free on the oval when it was not being used for sport.
Speaking after the meeting Ms Allen said the changes she and Mr Gill had made were “minor” but without them the community would have felt it had lost leash free access to some areas.
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Meanwhile, 175 people have signed a petition calling for French St Reserve Bushland Reserve to be changed to leash free.
A masterplan for the site was developed in 2020 and included a fenced leash free area.
According to council officers funding for the dog park would be considered in the 2025-26 budget.
A Herald Sun investigation found 87 dog attacks were reported on the Mornington Peninsula so far this year after more than 144 in 2023.
By comparison, Casey Council, which has more than 27,400 registered dogs — recorded 276 incidents that caused injury during the 2023/24 financial year — an 8 per cent increase on the previous year.
