At the bottom of Allowrie Street, adjacent to Hyams Creek in Jamberoo, sits a small, rather sad-looking fenced-in area designated as a dog park. Bright orange construction tape still runs along its front.
Costing $140,000, it has never actually opened. There is no signage, and locals are scathing in their comments. “A monument to idiocy and incompetence,” some suggest.
Late last year, with community angst running hot, Kiama Council put five different options for the future of the park on public display for a one-month consultation period. Those who think the dog park should be ditched altogether were also given the chance to have their say.
A Council spokeswoman said more than 80 community members shared their ideas and suggestions during the “engagement process”.
“Council is presently reviewing all feedback as we assess the design options,” she said. “Our aim is to present the findings to Council in early 2026, along with a Community Engagement Report showing how community input has informed the recommendation.”
Whether the review satisfies everyone involved appears extremely unlikely.
“You couldn’t fit three chihuahuas and a foxie in there,” says longtime dog trainer and well-known Jamberoo local Mark Cronin. “I don’t know anyone who intends to use it. Most people around here have working dogs – border collies and kelpies.”
Mr Cronin says he does not want to bag local government unnecessarily, having himself worked for Wollongong Council for more than 20 years. “But whoever designed the park had no knowledge of dogs or dog behaviour. I have been training dogs for more than 40 years, and this makes no sense.”
Mr Cronin argues that plans to include tables and chairs in the designated area would only exacerbate the problems.
“If people gather in one spot, then the dogs gather around them. The dogs fight. And then the people fight about their dogs.”
Secretary of the Jamberoo Valley Ratepayers and Residents Association, Ros Neilson, said sporting facilities took up almost all the available Council land.
“The core of the problem for the dog park is that Jamberoo is short of public spaces for infrastructure projects like this,” she said. “Unfortunately, the Council made the original decision about the dog park design without public consultation within Jamberoo, and the first information that many in the Jamberoo community had was when the fence was erected.
“There was considerable public backlash at the time, and Council responded by putting the project on pause and submitting a range of design options to the public for further comment. JVRRA feels that the take-away message is that it is important for Council to engage with the community before finalising the designs for new infrastructure projects like this one.”
One solution being proffered by Mark Cronin is to ditch the dog park altogether and turn it into a community garden. At the same time, he believes the green space running alongside Hyams Creek should be designated an off-leash area, releasing locals from the tyranny of the local ranger, who keeps an eagle eye out for anyone daring to let their dog off the leash.
Expect more fur to fly when Council next meets to resolve the issue.
