2018

Dog zones at Gedling Country Park

Date Posted: 12:32 PM on Thu, 10 May 2018

Gedling Borough Council is to introduce dog zones at Gedling Country Park as part of ongoing improvements to make the park accessible to all.

The 240 acre country park will have three zones; red, yellow and green. The red zones will be where dogs are not allowed to enter, the yellow zones will ask owners to keep dogs on leads and the green areas are where dogs can be let off leads but must be kept under control.

The zones are being introduced to improve safety around the park most notably the children’s play area, visitor centre and car park, as well as protecting livestock and wildlife in the park enclosure. The zones also stop owners from allowing their animals to swim in the lagoons, which can cause harm to wildfowl such as swans, which is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

The plans will be presented to residents through the official Gedling Country Park Facebook page and the Friends of Gedling Country Park group for feedback.

The park receives hundreds of visitors every month, many with dogs. The proposed zones will make sure that visitors are aware when dogs should be on leads and where they can be exercised off lead but still under control. 

The green zones, where dogs can be let off their leads, accounts for a large part of the former colliery land and provides acres of natural habitat for dogs to enjoy, without damaging the ecology of the park.

The zones were introduced after incidents in the park of dogs attacking the livestock and complaints of dogs not being kept under control in the park near the children’s play area.

Councillor Michael Payne, Deputy Leader of Gedling Borough Council said;

“We’re introducing these zones so that everyone who comes to the park can enjoy its fantastic views, walks and café with or without animals. Most visitors control their dogs exceptionally well but we have had incidents where dogs have been entering livestock enclosures, damaged the ecology and causing concerns around the play area and visitor centre, which we cannot allow.

The zones will provide visitors with clear guidance that will improve their experience and remove any uncertainties about how users should control their pets within the park. We welcome any feedback on these proposals and we think many people will find the changes an improvement to what is already, a great destination park.”