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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