Whitehorse News - September 2023

There are even more places in Whitehorse to take your dog for some exercise – with 10 newly-declared off-lead dog areas now available for owners and their four-legged friends to enjoy!

Councillors approved the creation of the new spaces at their meeting on 24 July, following a review which began in February 2023. It involved a one-month community consultation period which attracted more than 1250 responses.

We reviewed the feedback and recommended a change to allow dogs off-lead in parts of the following parks, reserves and open space areas from 1 September: 

Park or Reserve	New designated dog off-lead area	Suburb
Bennettswood Reserve	South Oval	Burwood
East Burwood Reserve	North Oval	Burwood East
Eley Park (North)	Main Oval	Blackburn South
Elgar Park	South West Oval	Mont Albert North
Junction Road Reserve	All areas	Nunawading
Koonung Reserve	North West Oval	Blackburn North
Slater Reserve	North West and South East areas	Blackburn North
Springfield Reserve	East Oval	Box Hill North
Surrey Park	North West Oval, North East Baseball Sports Field and South East Upper Oval	Box Hill
Whitehorse Reserve	Howard Wilson Oval	Box Hill

Owners can only let their dog off a lead at these new areas if they:

• Have the dog under control and can prevent it behaving in a manner that threatens or causes a nuisance to any person or animal. 
• Carry a leash, chain, cord or similar for the dog, not exceeding 1.5m in length. 
• Stay within 25m of their dog and maintain a clear unobstructed view of the dog at all times. 
• Can ensure the dog will immediately return to them upon command. 

Sparks Ward Councillor Tina Liu, who loves hiking with her dog, said the new off-lead areas would greatly benefit residents, visitors and their four-legged friends. 

“For pet owners who can responsibly manage their dogs, this opens up many new options for them to exercise and enjoy these fantastic open spaces in our city together,” she said. 

“Locals can be confident Council Officers will assist all users to follow our off-lead dog rules, and our parks team will continue to maintain these spaces in the fantastic conditions which they expect.” 

As part of the approved actions, 14 premium sports grounds in Whitehorse were declared areas where dogs are not allowed. 

For a full guide to where you can and cannot take your dog in Whitehorse, visit our Dogs in Public Spaces page.