We’re committed to ensuring Bayside’s recreation facilities meet the evolving and broad needs of our community.

To deliver a key action of the Domestic Animal Management Plan 2022-26, the winter sportsground lighting trial will investigate opportunities to facilitate structured community access to Bayside off-leash sportsgrounds, one evening per-week, outside of training and match allocation times.

Sportsground lighting will be turned on between 5:30pm and 8:30pm at three off-leash sportsgrounds while they are not being used for organised sport:

• RJ Sillitoe Reserve, Hampton on Mondays
• William Street Reserve, Brighton on Tuesdays
• RG Chisholm Reserve, Sandringham on Fridays

The trial program will commence 30 May 2022 and run until 19 August 2022.

The purpose of the trial is to understand if this program is of benefit an enjoyed by local dog owners, measure expected use, and understand impacts from increased use of the sportsgrounds.

Sportsgrounds were assessed against three key criteria:

• Are identified Dog Off Leash areas,
• Has no scheduled sporting activity on the selected evening, and
• Has available sportsground lighting.

The three sportsgrounds selected met the above criteria and were identified as suitable locations for the trial.

Winter lighting is currently a trial program to understand community experiences and determine if this program should be continued or expanded. As this is a trial, we have limited it to three grounds for 2022.

If you would like to suggest other off-leash sportsgrounds to be included in the future, should the program continue, please provide this information via the online survey on the project homepage.

You can also check out the seasonal schedule of sportsground allocation times to help plan your visits to other off-leash sportsgrounds, which are not included in the trial, around training and game times.

We want to understand community experiences of the trial to help us determine if it should be continued or expanded – see evaluation methods below.

To share your views of the trial, please complete the survey on the project homepage before 19 August 2022.

Evaluation of the trial will include local community feedback from dog owners, sports clubs and neighbouring residents; ground inspections; and Local Laws officer feedback on community uptake and adherence to pet owner responsibilities during on-site patrols.

Local Laws officers will document observations from regular patrols of each sportsground involved in the trial to provide data on community uptake and dog owner compliance with responsible pet ownership.

We will also undertake routine inspections of sportsgrounds involved in the trial to assess condition and cleanliness – in particular uncollected poo and holes dug by dogs which require urgent maintenance to prevent sports injury.

We’re also seeking feedback from the community to understand their experiences, which would help to shape any future programs.

It is important to note that the condition of sportsgrounds naturally deteriorates across the winter season. While regular monitoring and evaluation will occur, this will be balanced against the respective winter sport loading and associated weather conditions that will also contribute to ground conditions.

Council reserves the right to discontinue the delivery of the project without notice and for any reason, however particular notice will be placed on the condition of sportsgrounds and behaviour of pet owners in regard to responsible pet ownership.

We will consider a range of factors to determine if the program should be continued or expanded. Evaluation of the trial will include local community feedback from dog owners, sports clubs and neighbouring residents; ground inspections; and Local Laws officer feedback on community uptake and adherence to pet owner responsibilities during on-site patrols.

It is expected that the program will be evaluated in September - October 2022.

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Dogs must always be supervised and under effective voice and hand control to prevent unwanted or unsafe interactions in public spaces. This includes unwanted interactions with other dogs. Dogs need space for many reasons, including: shyness, fear, injury or illness, in training, reactivity, and aggression.

Be responsible, respectful and safe when sharing spaces:

• Ask permission before approaching people or dogs
• Never let your dog run towards or jump on others
• Always maintain effective control
• Pick up after your dog and dispose of it responsibly
• Ensure your dog doesn’t damage sportsground turf by digging.

Remember, in Bayside, dogs must be on leash within 20 metres of playgrounds, barbeques, picnic areas and on-leash signed lakes and ponds, and an area being used for organised sport, including training.

These rules are to protect everyone’s safety when exercising, including our pets.

Effective control keeps everyone safe - including your dog

• Keep sight of your dog at all times
• Monitor behaviour for unwelcome approaches
• Instant recall with voice or hand commands
• Put back on leash if you need to.