Grays Point Oval is a community facility that all local residents and surrounding areas should be able to enjoy.  A fabulous place for sporting activities, children to play and families to gather.  It has also become a place for dogs and their owners to come together and enjoy a play/social gathering away from busy roads and traffic.   Over the past couple of years there have been many dog owners in our area who have loved socialising their dogs, exercising them together and developing them as good "citizens".  We are a group of responsible dog owners who are respectful of our environment and we believe in cleaning up after our pets and keeping our dogs under effective control at all times.  Never was it more evident of the need for an off leash area in Grays Point than during the COVID-19 lockdowns.  With the increase in pet ownership and more and more people working from home the need for this social interaction will only continue to grow. Many local families enjoy walking their children to school and bringing their pets along with them for a play and a run around before the kids start school.  This is a great way to start the day off and good for everyone's health and well being.

Unfortunately, there has recently been a campaign instigated against allowing our dogs to enjoy this beautiful space.  This has resulted in Council rangers warning and issuing heavy penalties to residents for using this area.  Whilst we understand that the current Council ruling prohibits dogs being off leash in this area, we believe that this does not reflect the needs of the local community and should be reviewed.  These local amenities should be available for all of the community to use and enjoy.  We do not believe that the complaints of a very small minority should override what is best for our local community and those who live in it.

Therefore, we are lobbying Sutherland Shire Council to request a time share situation when the oval is not being used for other purposes, e.g. Monday to Friday 6:00am to 9:00am and 4:00pm to 6:00pm.  This would not interfere with weekend or evening sports/training, would not compromise the area or impact on the general community.

Given the fact that there is currently no off lead dog area in Grays Point, we the undersigned support the use of the Grays Point Fields as an off leash area during restricted times of the day or the creation of a designated off leash area.