Eaton Foreshore fenced off area to go to public survey

Dardanup shire residents will be able to have their say on a proposal to fence off part of the Eaton foreshore for use as a dog park in the coming months.

Objections to the park were presented by members of the community at the Dardanup Shire Council meeting last Wednesday before the councillors voted six to two in favour of conducting a survey.

Eaton’s Stacey Gillespie said she collected 47 objections prior to the meeting in order to present to the council.

“The main objection is to do with the location,” she said.

“I wanted to make it clear that I’m not opposed to a fenced dog park somewhere in the Shire of Dardanup, it’s just that I don’t think it should be on the Eaton Foreshore.

“It’s a reserve which all members of the community use in harmony at the moment and the shire are looking at blocking that all off.”

Other concerns presented by Mrs Gillespie included the possible environmental impact, limited parking in the area and loss of property values due to increased noise.

She said she was not satisfied with the council’s planned survey.

“We just wanted the foreshore taken off the proposal as a possible location,” she said.

“Some of the questions they were looking to put in the survey also seemed a little airy fairy and quite broad.”

Shire president Mick Bennett said the council opted to conduct a survey in order to hear from a cross-section of the community.

“We thought we heard just one side of the argument from those that came to have their say at the meeting,” he said. “We would have eventually called for comment anyway but it would have been more expensive to potentially change things at that stage.”

The survey is expected to be released soon and the council will address the responses at its meeting in March.