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Cowells Lane Reserve

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Cowells Lane Reserve in Ermington is a popular off-leash dog exercise area and is much loved by the community. It is approximately 15 hectares in size and includes creeks, a stormwater detention basin, a small playground, a Council-owned nursery, bushland, walking tracks and exercise stations.

Originally, dogs were only allowed off-leash in the central basin area, however, in 2009, the off-leash area was expanded to include the whole of Cowells Lane Reserve.

Since the expansion, Cowells Lane Reserve has seen upgrades including the construction of a concrete circuit path, a playground upgrade, the addition of fitness stations and the upgrade of walking paths.

An increase in usage of the park over the years has led to biodiversity degradation, incidents with unleashed dogs, and requests from the community to designate a fenced, safe dog off-leash area. In addition to this, the fencing around the children’s play equipment does not currently comply with the Companion Animals Act 1998 - Section 14, where dogs are prohibited from being within 10m of any children’s playing apparatus.

Council reviewed the off-leash area and feedback received during the March 2020 community consultation and proceeded to install a temporary fence which was trialed for six (6) months.

What did we hear?

The opportunity to provide feedback on the temporary fence trial was open for six (6) months and ended February 2021. Thank you to everyone who participated in this consultation. Your feedback has been used to decide on the next steps for Cowells Lane.

Over 350 people participated in the Cowells Lane Reserve Temporary Fence Trial consultation which concluded in February 2021. View the results of the consultation in the Resources section.

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Council reviewed the Cowells Lane Reserve in order to meet our responsibility to maintain the City’s precious open spaces in a way that is welcoming, safe, and accessible to all of our community members. We are responsible for providing parks within walking distance to our residents that incorporate as many different uses as possible and to maximise the potential use of any one open space. Council has received complaints that the park is not accessible and welcoming to all, and we have worked to address that.

Council undertook thorough analysis of the site and considered several configurations to inform the proposed concept design in addition to the review of feedback from the March 2020 community consultation.

 

The temporary fence trial location was selected because it retained a substantial area for dogs to play and exercise.

 

71% (253/359) voted in support of a permanent fence.

 

Source: community consultation of trial fence.

See full report

 

Legend:

Green dogs - off leash

Red dogs - on leash

Yellow icon - playground

Green P - parking

Your language

Need an interpreter? Please phone TIS on 131 450.

If you are deaf and/or find it hard hearing or speaking with people who use a phone, please contact the National Relay Service at relayservice.gov.au and provide them the City of Parramatta contact number, 1300 617 058.

71% voted in support of a permanent fence

Timeline

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    March 2020

    Community consultation
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    April 2020

    Review feedback

     
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    August 2020

    Report back to community and decide how to proceed

     
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    August 2020

    Second round of consultation from 10 August until 15 February 2021.

     

    Fence was constructed on 31 August 2020 after delays due to the...
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    February 2021

    End of consultation on temporary fence trial.

     

    Review community and stakeholder feedback.

     
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    March 2021

    Report back to community with final deciison.

     
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    Mid 2021

    Design and procurement process for:

    • permanent fence
    • water station near nursery
    • replace Betty's Bridge
    • one new disabled car parking...
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    Late 2021

    Construction complete on permanent dog fence, water station and disabled car parking space, as well as replacement of Betty's Bridge.

Resources

Gallery

View all

Need an interpreter? Please phone TIS on 131 450.

If you are deaf and/or find it hard hearing or speaking with people who use a phone, please contact the National Relay Service at relayservice.gov.au and provide them the City of Parramatta contact number, 1300 617 058.