Council Opens Its First Dog Exercise Area

September 5, 2018

Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council is pleased to announce the opening of its first dog exercise area, which is located at the Billy Neill playing fields, Dundonald.

Alderman Paul Porter, Chairman of the Council’s Leisure & Community Development Committee, speaking about the new dog exercise area, said: “The Council offers a number of parks and open spaces for its residents to exercise and socialise in.  The health and sociability of our four legged residents is just as important and dog owners and dog walkers can let their dogs off the lead in this dedicated fenced area at Billy Neill.

“We hope that this new area will be well utilised by dog walkers and we will monitor its use. If it is successful, then over time we may add similar dog exercise areas in other green spaces across Lisburn Castlereagh and will keep its residents informed of these plans.”

Dog exercise areas are not just for dogs.  They also provide the opportunity for conversations to start between dog owners as dogs are natural icebreakers and give their owners confidence to talk to new people.

Councillor Janet Gray MBE, Chair of the Council’s Environment Services Committee added: “The Council expects the users of this dog exercise area to self-police in terms of cleaning up after their dog and ensuring their dog is comfortable socialising off-lead with other dogs before allowing it to use this facility. 

“This new exercise area allows local dog owners and dog walkers to comply with existing dog control legislation and ensure their pet gets exercised safely off the lead out of the way of vehicles whilst also assisting in reducing the level of dog foul left on the sports pitches by some irresponsible dog walkers.”

Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council hopes that the addition of dedicated dog exercise areas to its facilities will be welcomed by the local community.