Pahīatua dog park plans moving ahead

From left: Raylene Treder, Ben Luders and Alison Franklin have been working to develop the dog park in Pahīatua. Photo / Leanne Warr

It’s been a bit of a slow jog, but those behind plans for the dog park in Pahīatua feel that the end is in sight.

Constable Ben Luders is one of those involved in the committee to develop the longed-for dog park, which will be at Rotary Park.

Ben says the Tararua District Council have given the approval for it to go ahead and there has been some public consultation, which also informed some design changes.

It’s been five years since Ben and others first started looking into the project.

Ben says he identified it as a need and thought it would be a good thing to do.

Ben Luders has done a lot of work to develop the idea of the dog park. Photo / Leanne Warr

“I had to do quite a bit of work in the history of the park, who owned it [and] had an interest in it.”

He says he had to get permission from the council to use it and determine if there were any issues around consent or compliance.

It was believed Rotary had some interest in the area a long time ago and it once had a BMX track.

Ben says the intent was to provide a designated area where dogs could be off-leash.

He says while there was an area at Victory Park, just out of town, it wasn’t really suitable because it was unfenced and was a recreational area in summer where people would go to swim in the river.

“There’s no defined area for dog use in Pahīatua. Nothing user-friendly.”

Pahīatua has a large population of dogs and it was generally those with registered dogs who tended to use dog parks.

“There’s quite a demand for that sort of facility,” Ben says.

Since the idea was floated with the community, there had been a lot of interest in it, he says.

Some of the plans for the dog park include fencing as well as dog agility-type furniture, as well as a water fountain.

There are also discussions around rubbish bins, a bag dispenser, seating, signage and access.

Ben says the committee has the backing of Explore Pahiatua, which has also provided financial support.

“They’ve got money there that they’re happy to back the project with.”

Local businesses, such as Turtons and Farm Source Pahīatua, have also lent their support with contributions towards the project and a contractor has been appointed to build the fence, which is hoped to be completed by around August.

The draft plan for the dog park.

Following that, there are plans to plant native trees, which Ben says he has been talking with the Horizons Regional Council about and it’s hoped that the second stage will be started closer to the end of year.