“I love hearing how many residents in Rosebery have a dog and are enjoying public parkland in the area. I walk through Green Square and neighbouring Moore Park with my own dogs, Bessie and Buster, regularly.
Here at the City of Sydney we support off-leash areas where appropriate because we know dogs play a significant role in people’s lives by providing companionship, security and exercise. We recognise that regular off-leash exercise helps dogs to socialise and release energy, which reduces nuisance behaviour such as uncontrolled barking - which is even more important as more residents are living in apartments!
The park in Rosebery, which does not yet have a name, has not been officially declared an on or off-leash park. The land was only recently handed over to the City by Meriton, and we will be transforming the space into a formal park. We are currently working on the design and will bring this to the local community towards the end of this year for your feedback. During the consultation period, you’ll have the opportunity to provide feedback, and I'll welcome your suggestion that the park become off-leash in the future.
Until the park is officially open, unfortunately you’ll have to keep your dog on-leash in this area. Under the Companion Animals Act, dogs must remain on-leash in all public places unless they’ve been officially declared off-leash, and we can't do that until we've gone through the proper processes and consulted with the community. Now that the land has been handed back to the City, we've installed some temporary signs in the area to remind owners that they need to keep their dogs on the lead at all times.
If you would like to speak with a Council officer about the park, you can contact Mark Driver, Parks and Recreation Planner, on 9265 9333 or at mdriver@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au.
Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney.”
