Proposed Centennial Park enclosed dog park a way of ‘future proofing’ Albany

Funding for the development of an Albany-first enclosed dog park will be considered in next year’s annual budget.

At their October meeting, Albany councillors unanimously voted in support of Centennial Park Central Precinct as the preferred location for the dog park.

They also resolved that a funding allocation would be considered for the City’s 2023-24 budget to implement the concept plan.

Cr Chris Thomson said building an enclosed dog park “future-proofs us to an extent to have a more compact city”.

Cr Thomson said he had recently seen a park in Claremont similar to the Centennial Park Central Precinct concept “only four-times smaller, and it was fantastic”.

“For people who want to have a dog and live in a unit or a townhouse these sorts of things are magnificent,” he said.

Cr Matt Benson-Lidholm said the project was “not before time”.

“There is obviously demand for this sort of recreation pursuit for people who own dogs,” he said.

“This is not before time, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s a goer.”

The Centennial Park location, opposite the City of Albany administration buildings on North Road, was identified as the best of four options explored in a report prepared for councillors.

It was the only option to satisfy all nine criteria, placing it in front of Foundation Park, Becker Park and Collingwood Park.

It was also the only option considered big enough not to interfere with other users, capable of being able to separate big and small dogs, and accessible for all ages and abilities.

Other benefits were the site was well-drained, had natural shelter and did not require reticulation which would allow dogs to dig.

The report was prompted by two petitions with more than 500 signatures between them which were accepted by councillors in June.

There are 14 designated dog exercise areas in the City of Albany where dogs are allowed to run off-leash, but those areas are not enclosed.