We are seeking community feedback on a draft concept plan for proposed enhancements to the dog off-leash area at Mount Waverley Linear Reserve (including Heany Street and Beverley Grove Reserves), Mount Waverley.

Monash Council has secured $500,000 in funding through round one of the Victorian Government's New and Upgraded Dog Parks program, which seeks to improve the state's open space network to ensure that Victorians have easy access to much-needed green open space to exercise, relax or enjoy the outdoors with their dogs.

Like other councils, Monash is experiencing population growth and pressure on our public open spaces. With a continued increase in the number of registered dogs in Monash, planning and managing off-leash areas for people to walk and exercise their dogs is critical.

Following extensive community consultation, Council endorsed a new Off-Leash Policy in November 2022 to guide how we manage our open space with increasing dog ownership in Monash. This process included a review of off-leash areas across the municipality.

As part of this review, the dog off-leash area at the south end of Mount Waverley Linear Reserve (Heany Street Reserve) was extended. The off-leash area was increased to include the north reserve (Beverley Grove).

The proposed Mount Waverley Linear Reserve upgrades are designed to provide a welcoming environment for the whole community and a place that dog owners can come to actively recreate and socialise with their dogs.

Share your thoughts with us by Sunday 28 July 2024.

You can also come along to our drop-in session on Sunday 30 June, 10am-11am, at the Heany Street Reserve car park, Heany Street, Mount Waverley, to speak to our design team about the project.

The draft concept design includes the below improvements:

• Dog enrichment elements - digging pit, log clusters and clamber mound equipment
• New pathway
• Additional seating options throughout the reserves
• Safety fencing and gates along the busy Waverley Road frontage
• Bollard and single-tube fences at the Heany Street car park entrance
• Barrier planting and/or landscape barriers (new/retained) to create an informal barrier along other entries
• Additional drink fountains with dog bowls
• Additional bins
• Waste bag dispensers
• Reinforced buffer plantings between the playground and off-leash area
• New signage with dog off-leash appropriate messaging (and dog etiquette signage).

We recognise the social, mental, emotional, and physical health and wellbeing benefits that owning dogs provide to our society. These off-leash area improvements have been designed to provide:

• A hub where dog owners can congregate and network
• Opportunities for education/awareness and community development and ‘place making’ initiatives
• An alternative and low-cost recreation option for dog owners and their dogs.

This area will remain a public open space asset that will be accessible to all residents, not only dog owners.