Following feedback from the community, City of Palmerston has developed a Concept Plan for potential improvements to the Marlow Lagoon Dog Park. 

The concept plan was developed after Council received a petition about creating a dedicated small dog area at the park.

The park already has a number of amenities available, including a large common area for all dogs, a dog agility course, a shaded BBQ area, pathways, shade trees, a smaller fenced area to separate dogs, park benches and lake frontage.

Suggested improvement works will ensure the park is designed in line with Council’s vision of ‘A Place for People’, while catering for the needs of their canine companions.

Elements included in the Concept Plan are not fixed and were refined based on community feedback. Council is considering the community’s opinions and suggestions on each of the elements of the Concept Plan, the importance and priority for each of the proposed improvements. 

Design

The Concept Plan, designed by open space and animal behaviour specialists LMH Consulting/Paws4Play, includes options for zones and sensory elements to help manage dog behaviours and ensure all users can enjoy the park. 

The design takes into consideration safety, separating activity areas and maintaining pedestrian access points. The dog park has been designed to:

• help disperse dog activity across the park
• help distract dogs from a continued focus on play with other dogs 
• provide areas where dogs can retreat, or where owners can take elderly or timid dogs
• help distract dogs from activity at the entry/exits
• expose dogs to a range of sensory and educational environments.

Marlow Lagoon Dog Park Proposed Concept Plan

List of proposed improvements

1. Quiet and small dog area - a fully-fenced quiet area for small and other quiet/elderly dogs, which includes an existing shelter, additional trees, space breakers, rock-scape features, small water feature and seating.
2. Education/agility circuit - relocating the existing education/agility circuit closer to the entrance but away from the main activity areas to allow for more formal dog training activities, with a small shelter, equipment storage and additional trees and shrubs to help training focus.
3. Landscaping and sensory areas - landscaping to include a sensory area with rock insets to create climbable mounds, a possible digging pit and rock-scape area or dry creek bed, to create as many space breakers to separate dogs as possible.
4. Open run area - an open run-about area for ball play with additional trees planted throughout and new seating.
5. Lake edge improvements - using flat-topped rocks to stabilise the lake edge and minimise disturbance of the area by dogs entering and exiting the water, and installing a new shelter, seating and drinking fountain for both people and dogs.
6. General enhancements – general enhancements to the area by extending current irrigated lawns so there is green grass year-round, more seating and shade trees, a fitness/walking loop pathway, landscaping at the entrance of the park and a new double-gated entry on a concrete pad with signage and bins.

Consultation

The Concept Plan was available for public comment for a six-week period, with the consultation open from 31 August and closing on 12 October 2020. Council is now considering feedback. 

As of April 2021 Council have commenced Stage 1 upgrade works, please refer to our Marlow Lagoon Dog Park Improvement Updates page for new information and the Stage 1 Visual Plan.

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Factsheet