Dog exercise areas to stay

On-leash dog exercise areas on Ettalong and Patonga beaches will remain after Gosford Council decided to make its current dog exercise policy permanent last week.

The decision came in the face of a staff review recommending the areas be removed.

The exercise area in Woy Woy on Brick Wharf Rd and North Burge Rd was also recommended for removal because it was a popular area for families and children.

The off-leash dog exercise area at south Umina Beach would have also been relocated.

The decision to keep the existing areas appeared to be based on the rejection of recommendations which would have removed dog exercise areas from the vicinity of coastal lagoons, rather than concerns specific to the Peninsula.

Cr Craig Doyle cited cases where dog owners would have to drive their dogs by car from one area to another.

He gave examples of beaches that would no longer be available for dog exercise, meaning some dog owners who lived by the beach might have to drive several kilometres to a site which did allow dog exercise.

But Cr Terri Latella told Peninsula News after the meeting that the policy should have been deferred to allow further investigation of the more serious issues in the report, stating that some councillors had played to the audience in the council gallery instead of focusing on the bigger picture.

"I think some of my fellow councillors decided to keep the draft policy due to the performance of the public gallery, and I don't feel that's good for council," Cr Latella said.

"There are many environmental and social concerns with this draft policy, and that's why there was an amended policy recommended," she said.

Cr Latella said that the existing dog exercise policy would cause damage to local ecosystems, especially local lagoons.

"These sensitive areas will be disturbed."

Lyle Stone, Council agenda CS.29, November 23