Proposed Changes to Pippi Point Davistown Off Leash Area
Submissions on the proposed changes to the Pippi Point Davistown Off-leash dog exercise area are due to Gosford City Council by 5pm on Tuesday 19th August 2014.
In the last 100 years, Pippi Point has never been a part of any pristine, native wilderness. Originally, Pippi Point did not exist.
Pippi Point was constructed by humans from the waste deposits of sand from dredging the nearby Lintern Channel [Geoff Potter, GCC Library]. Humans later planted the casuarinas to reduce the amount of dredged sand being washed back into Lintern Channel. [Discussions with various locals].
We note that the Pippi Point dog exercise area has been used for dog exercise for more than 30 years, being officially established for dog exercise by Gosford City Council in 1984. We also note that the Niche Report fails to acknowledge this fact, referring only to the review and modification of the Dog Exercise Areas Policy that took place in 2002 (as if it was the first time the dog exercise areas had been introduced) and the more recent 2012 review resulting in the Dogs in Open Spaces Strategy.
We also note that for more than 40 years, Pippi Point has been an important social meeting point for dogs and humans, and today, Pippi Point is especially socially significant in light of the age demographic of Davistown, with a higher proportion of elderly and special needs residents than many other areas, many of whom cannot drive, and for some, walking their dog at Pippi Point may be the only social contact they have in a day.
Moreover, with the closure of Saratoga Oval and Kincumber dog exercise areas in 2009, Pippi Point is the last remaining accessible dog exercise area for the residents of Davistown. It’s access to still water for swimming is also a vital component for dog exercise in the local area, particularly as it is the only dog exercise park that has water access for dogs.
Studies have shown that pet ownership has numerous health benefits with dog and cat owners making fewer annual GP visits and owners are less likely to be on medication for heart problems or sleeping difficulties. “An important public policy implication is that pet ownership probably reduces national health expenditure. … A preliminary estimate of savings of $988 million is given for Australia for financial year 1994-95″ [Bruce Headey (1998) Health Benefits and Health Cost Savings due to Pets: Preliminary Estimates from an Australian National Survey, University of Melbourne, Centre for Public Policy, in Social Indicators Research 47: 233-243, 1999 p.233] Moreover, pets act as a social lubricant improving people’s social networks and reducing loneliness with “[f]ifty-eight percent of pet owners [saying] they ‘got to know people and made friends’ through having pets. [Bruce Headey (1998) p. 238 quoting from The Australian People and Pets Survey].
We also note that from 1984 – 2004, various BSC appear to have continued to live in the local vicinity with no recorded incidents between dogs and BSC at Pippi Point dog exercise area or indeed at any other dog exercise area in the local vicinity.
We further note that in 2009, GCC closed down 5 dog exercise areas that had operated for 30 years, 3 of 4 BSC died during 2010-2011, one reported as having been taken by a fox in May 2011. We also note that at least 3 scientific studies have concluded that the presence of dogs acts as a deterrent for foxes and feral cats. [Abi Tamim Vanak, Maria Thaker, Matthew E. Gompper (2009) Experimental examination of behavioural interactions between free-ranging wild and domestic canids, Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol (2009) 64:279-287; http://www.thefoxwebsite.org/populations/australia.html].
After 19 August, 2014, Gosford Council will spend time reviewing and collating all of the responses in the written submissions that it receives.
When that work is finalised, Council officers will make recommendations to Gosford Council, based on the number of submissions received and the information contained in the written submissions.
The Councillors will then vote on the proposals. We won’t know what the final proposals will be until the Friday before the Tuesday Council meeting at which the proposals will be voted on. This doesn’t give us much time to inform you all either as to the proposals or as to the date of the Council meeting.
That’s why it is so important between NOW and then, that you all do your best to:
1. Tell as many people as possible about what’s happening;
2. Encourage as many people as possible to write submissions to Gosford Council; and
3. Ask them to email us here at ccbarc@gmail.com so we can add them to our contact list. Being able to quickly contact people in a short space of time is vital for communications and letting people know when the Council Meeting is on. Without strong numbers, Council doesn’t sit up and listen. If you want your preferred proposals to go through, there must be strong community support for them.
4. We also ask that all Vets, Pet Shops, Groomers and Pet Cafe owners prominently advise their clients and customers about what is going on.
CCBARC has limited resources and we are all volunteers. Your help is greatly appreciated.
The documents are on public exhibition until Tuesday 5 August, 2014. After this date, you will no longer be able to access copies of the Niche Report. So make sure you have a copy – CCBARC did send out copies with our email the other day.
When writing your submissions, the following things are important:
Correctly address your submission:
Chief Executive Officer,
Gosford City Council,
PO Box 21,
Gosford, NSW, 2250,
OR
Chief Executive Officer,
Gosford City Council,
emailed to goscity@gosford.nsw.gov.au,
Ensure you correctly identify the issue your submission is referring to:
Regarding: ‘Environmental Assessments – Dog Off Leash Exercise Areas’.
Include your full name and contact details
This is so Council can be certain that your submission is a genuine one from a concerned and interested party.
Clearly identify which area your submission concerns
For example, if you are only concerned about Davistown, then make sure that you state at the beginning of your submission that you are writing specifically in relation to the proposals for the dog exercise area at Pippi Point, Davistown.
If you are covering all of the areas, then please also state that you are covering each of the proposals for each of Pippi Point, Davistown, Avoca Lake/Lagoon Avoca Beach, and Cochrone Lagoon MacMasters/Copacabana Beaches.
Also, if you are covering each area, please make it clear which area you are talking about at any given point in your written submission.
Clearly identify what proposal you are supporting
Please make it clear that you support X proposal. You could insert a copy of the map of the proposal you support. To assist you, included on this page is a copy of the maps of the new proposals that were circulated at the public meeting.
You may like to include reasons why you support a particular proposal
You may also like to thank Gosford City Council for their more recent proactive approaches to this issue (for example, they held two meetings this past week to further discuss the proposals with the public and interested parties)