216 Signatures
1,000 for collection target
Petition addressed to: City of Hobart Council
The City of Hobart Council has approved the installation of a fully fenced dog exercise area at Lower Wellesley Park in South Hobart by July 1 2026 . Lower Wellesley Park is a cherished gathering place for local residents, offering sweeping views of the mountain and River Derwent, and supporting a wide range of activities, including informal recreation (e.g. picnics, ball games, cycling practice), community events (e.g. Sweet Beats on My Street, Kunanyi Mountain Run), and use of the adjacent playground. The site also provides habitat for local wildlife, such as bandicoots and pademelons
Reason
The proposed fenced area would occupy a substantial portion of the park and consequently alter these existing patterns of shared use.
Concerns have also been raised about the level of community consultation. As the proposal was considered within broader Dog Management Policy deliberations, some local residents and non-dog-owning user groups were unaware of the proposed development and did not have an opportunity to contribute to the decision-making process.
The following affected user groups would like to be directly consulted on the development of Lower Wellesley Park:
- South Hobart residents from Wentworth St, Wellesley St, and Ingram St
- South Hobart families with young children who use the playground.
- South Hobart Sustainable Community Group who assists with community events hosted at Lower Wellesley and supports the local community garden
- South Hobart Progress Association who represent the broad South Hobart Community
Given the scale of the proposed change, we ask that Council defer implementation of a fully fenced dog exercise area at Lower Wellesley Park to allow for a higher level of public participation (at least Level 3-Involvement as specified in the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation, as per City of Hobart Community Engagement Framework) that involves direct consultation with the user groups listed above. This consultation process would inform the potential loss (and/or compromised use) of amenities to ensure these do not outweigh any perceived benefits of the proposed fencing.
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Thank you so much for your support, Lucy Musik, South Hobart
Question to the initiator
Petition details
Petition started:
04/17/2026
Collection ends:
10/16/2026
Region:
Hobart city center
Topic:
Construction
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new language versionWhy people sign
Living in Ingram street. There is very limited car parking already on both sides of the park. Already people dont clean up their dog's faeces and I feel this will just become worse. They also use my rubbish bin to drop their dog poo bags into, so we have to get our bins emptied more frequently ( not easy) to get bin to street).My street and the park is a wildlife corridor for the bandicoots, pademelons and wallabies and a dog oark would be completely inappropriate for the wildlife. I use the park to recreate, and picnic and do not want it to be fenced off for dogs. Unfortunately people already let their unleashed AND leashed dogs run up to me, and have had them jump on me which I find frightening. I am dissapointed at the lack of consultation with residents and feel it is not an appropriate solution to the football oval above the park banning dogs.
Limiting use of the space by fencing it restricts the ways in which locals and visitors can safely and comfortably move their bodies in nature. In a time of increasingly sedentary lifestyles it is crucial for public spaces to have multiple uses. I urge council to consider the ways the community comes together in this space, and request genuine consultation before moving ahead with finalising planning and beginning construction.
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