Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Garden Cities takes the lead with Sunningdale’s dedicated dog park
A ONE HECTARE dedicated dog park called Leadville will soon be opened for the canine residents of Garden Cities’ suburb Sunningdale on the West Coast.
The park is part of the infrastructure provided by the developer over the past 15 years that includes a hospital, commercial centres, schools and sports facilities.
The large park, on Leadville Way, is off main artery Braselton Road at the edge of the developed area to the east of the growing suburb that now comprises nearly 3 300 homes. The civil engineering contract in prepa- ration for the park is under way and the park itself will be completed before the end of the year.
Garden Cities group manager for engineering and planning, Renier Smith, says among Garden Cities’ main objectives is to have the residents of its suburbs develop into a cohesive independent community that grows with as many facilities as possible.
“We’ve added Leadville to the mix because a high percentage of households in Sunningdale have dogs, and it’s appropriate to our community objectives to provide a safe and attractive environment where residents and their furry friends can enjoy their leisure time together.”
Robert Rothig, chairman of the Sunningdale Sports Club – another major facility provided by Garden Cities – fully endorses the dog park development.
“People’s interests are diverse with sport and recreation key to a healthy community. Garden Cities gets the formula right with this dog park, because not only is it a great place for the dogs to socialise, but their owners will also get to know one another, and common interests have proved to help bind communities.”
Leadville will be a safe place for residents to run their best friends in the grassy fenced space that will also feature a shallow pond for dogs to cool their paws and drink the running water from a fountain at the centre.
But it’s the 180m building with its 107m2 veranda at the entrance to the park that will also delight dog owners. It will house some services that many believe to be essential to their pets’ comfort and wellbeing. Among the potential tenants negotiating to take space in the building are a vet store and a dog behaviourist. For working dog owners, the possibility of a doggy day-care service will be good news.
The building will form the actual entrance to the park, which contributes to the security of the facility under the eye of the tenants who will also take primary responsibility for keeping general order in the park. Dog owners will be responsible for removing droppings, with disposable bags and bins. A portion of tenant rentals will be used to assist with the maintenance and management of the dog park.
The business side of the park will focus on the care and comfort of dogs, while a coffee shop will cater for owners’ caffeine cravings.
A fence to prevent pooches wandering too far will surround the park, but the open play area will also tie into the future green belt that meanders through the development. This will extend the scope of the park’s offering, with owners able to walk their dogs on leads in the public open spaces accessed through the formal dog park.