The City of Charles Sturt has now finalised the community consultation for this project.

We were seeking community feedback to determine if there was a need for changes to our previously existing leash laws in two of our highest public use spaces - the River Torrens Linear Park and the footpath section of Coast Park between Marlborough Street and Grange Road, Henley Beach.

Leash laws in the City of Charles Sturt

Our dog leash laws exist to help everyone in our community feel safe and comfortable in sharing our public spaces. While we recognise that most dogs are friendly and dog owners responsible, not all members of our community share the same comfort around dogs and likewise not all dogs enjoy the company of other dogs or people.

Definitions of ‘Dog on lead’ and ‘Dog off lead’ spaces (Dog and Cat Management Act (SA) 1995).

• Dog on Lead: In these spaces, the person in control of the dog must be holding the dog on a lead or the dog must be tied to an immovable object. The lead must be no more than 2 metres in length. This applies to all leads, regardless of whether they can extend past 2 metres or not.
• Dog off Lead: In these spaces, the person in control of the dog can have the dog on lead or off lead. Any dog that if off lead must be under effective control: within sight and close by, and under voice control (this includes the ability to call your dog away from another person or dog sharing this space with you).

- UPDATE -

High public use areas – dog leash suitability review - linear park and coast park - endorsed on Monday 9 December 2019

Following our extensive community consultation a report was presented and endorsed by Council on Monday 9 December, 2019 (CL 9/12/19 Item 6.141) with the following resolution:

1. That, there being at least two-thirds of the current members of Council present and in exercise of the powers contained in Section 246(3)(e) of the Local Government Act 1999 and paragraph 11 of By-Law No. 5 – Dogs and Cats, designate certain reserves as dog-on leash areas, applying paragraph 6 of By-Law No. 5 (Dog on Leash Areas ) to the following land:

• Esplanade, Henley Beach Lot 940 in HP 106100 Certificate of Title Vol 5753 Folio 891 and Lot 941 in HP 106100 Certificate of Title Vol 5753 Folio 891

2. That no change be made to the current Linear Park dog leash requirements.

Council Dogs and Cats By-Law Resolution gazetted on 23 January 2020 please see the following link for details

Map of the area of Coast Park

The full report is available in the document library.

A total of 2,471 consultation surveys were completed for both the Linear Park and Coast Park areas, as well as an additional 839 written comments. Whilst the results for each respective area were close in regard to keeping the current leash laws in place compared to implementing changes, the following approach was endorsed by Council:

• Linear Park: Retain the current requirements for dogs to be under effective control at all times, and on-lead within 5 metres of a playground. This approach is consistent with the entire stretch of Linear Park and was supported by an additional 10% of respondents.

• Coast Park: Implement the requirement for dogs to be on lead at all times within the section of Coast Park that runs between Marlborough Street and Grange Road, Henley Beach. This approach will create uniformity along the Coast Park within the City of Charles Sturt and will assist to provide clarity for dog and non-dog owners alike.

Thank you for your interest and participation in the High public use areas – dog leash suitability review. The new on leash requirements for the identified section of the Coast Park will be applicable from the date of gazette, which is likely to be in Mid-January 2020.