A baseball bat-wielding man chasing down dog owners and rampant canines puncturing soccer balls were some of the bizarre tales to have emerged in the battle over an off-leash area.
Dog owners and residents were out in force at last week’s council meeting to speak their minds on the 10-month off-leash trial at Leura Oval.
But after a volley of claims fired from both sides of the debate, councillors ultimately decided to throw caution to the wind and approve the proposal.
“We’ve heard a lot of anecdotal nonsense tonight,” said Councillor Terri Hamilton.
“I must reiterate this is for a trial period.
“And in that time, council would expect the users of the dog off-leash area to have respect for other users and also for the place itself.”
Clr Kerrin O’Grady said supporting the trial would inflame an already “volatile situation” at the oval.
“Council needs to be very careful about putting two groups of people together who seem to have quite strong feelings towards each other,” she told councillors around the table.
The time-shared plan aims to answer calls for a ‘proper’ off-leash area in the village, with roaming dogs currently relegated to a narrow bush track near the oval.
Under the scheme dogs can run free from sunrise to 10am and 4pm to 9pm daily, except when the oval is booked for other activities.
“There is a clear need for a better off-leash dog area in Leura as demonstrated by the size of the (600-signature) petition,” dog owner Michael McGuren told councillors.
“Leura Oval is ideal. It's accessible and good for dogs.”
But some residents neighbouring Leura Oval felt the restricted hours were disruptive and would give dog owners a monopoly on the facility.
“(The times) exclude children from playing on the oval after school," said Cheryl Maddocks.
“Also, are these hours fair for local residents? In other words, residents can be woken up at sunrise . . . and go to bed at night to the sound of traffic and barking of dogs.
“Surely residents have the right to quiet enjoyment of their property.”
The off-leash area's positioning near national park land was also of concern to residents.
Clrs Frappell, Brown, Myles, McLaren, Van der Kley, Hamilton and Angel voted for the off-leash area trial.
Clrs Creed, Trindall, McInnes and O'Grady voted against. Clr Searle was absent from the meeting.