Yes. We value our open spaces, particularly in high density urban areas. Dean White Reserve is separated into two sections of open space; approx 1 hectare of reserve on the western side, bounded by Fletcher and Kincaid Roads (not including the area leased by the Henley South Tennis Club), and approx 1.74 hectares on the eastern side that runs in a 'dog leg' shape, bounded by Kincaid Road, Lexington Road and Yorktown Crescent.

The dog park is proposed for the western side of the reserve, adjacent to the Henley South Tennis Club Courts. While we have not considered the size of the proposed dog park, it may be from 3,500-4,500 square meters, depending on the design.

This first stage of the Henley ward area dog park investigation (stage 1 engagement) is to understand if a dog park in the Henley area is supported or not, if the proposed location is supported or not and, if you own a dog, a bit about your dog, its behaviour, and how you keep active together.

All feedback from this stage will be collated and analysed by staff and a decision report prepared for Committee/Council so they decide on the way forward. All consultation participants and project followers will be notified when the decision report is going up to Committee/Council so that they have an opportunity to make a deputation, if they wish.

For this reason, we strongly encourage anyone interested in the outcome of this project to follow the project page (by clicking 'Follow' in the banner at the top of this page) if you don't intend on participating in the consultation process.

You can certainly suggest an alternative location in or near the Henley Ward area (suburbs of Henley Beach or Henley Beach South, or part of Fulham Gardens and West Beach) in your feedback to us. Staff will review and consider these options if there is clear opposition to the proposed location of Dean Whiteford Reserve.

However as mentioned in the project details above, any park or reserve space that was assessed as being available for this type of use and large enough to accommodate a dog park in or around the Henley ward area has likely already been considered by staff and was not suitable.

As we are in the investigation stage and seeking public feedback, we haven't started the planning or design stages just yet. If the project progresses to stage 2 consultation, we will share a draft concept plan with you for feedback. This plan will be informed by some of the responses you provide in your current feedback to us, about you and your dog.

Yes! We will offer an onsite community information session during stage 2 of the project engagement, when we are seeking your feedback on a concept plan.

If we have a request to meet in person during the current stage of engagement (stage 1), we are happy to make a time to meet at a mutually convenient location. Reach out to us on the details below, and we arrange a suitable time.