New dog park planned for Eastern Beach

The Gibraltar Government has filed a planning application for a new dog park to be located at Eastern Beach.

The park will include dog showers and separate play areas for small and larger dogs.

In a planning statement prepared by GC Architects, it states the project aims to “construct a dog park facility to cater for the needs of dog owners where their pets can play and interact freely and safely within a fenced area.”

The design principle was to “provide a cheerful, safe and dedicated area for dogs to enjoy leash-free play.”

The new site will be located on a new portion of land at the northern end of Eastern Beach Road, created over Kingsway Tunnel next to the runway.

The dog park will comprise of three zones.

Zone one will have an entrance Pen – This area will be immediately accessed from Eastern Beach Promenade and serve as a communal area. It will also provide level vehicular access to the service/maintenance area on the Northern end of the site.

Zone two and Zone three will be a small dog and large dog enclosure respectively.

“The dog park will have a similar feel to that of a park, with benches and lighting but with a reduced landscaping element given its exposure to the sea and to reduce the maintenance of the facility,” said the planning statement.

The small and large dog enclosures will have features and equipment typical of these sorts of facilities, such as drinking stations, showers and rinsing areas, waste disposal bins, organic agility/play features for dogs (like logs and large rocks), and shade structures like pergolas.

It will have a crushed stone build-up to soften the current concrete hard standing finish. “This is the ideal finish for dog parks as it assists in the cleaning and drainage,” said the statement.

“And provides a softer finish, more ‘paw’ friendly than asphalt or concrete.”

Within the dog park, each area will also be sub-divided with fencing to avoid dogs escaping onto the beach or the nearby roads.

The dog park will be maintained as per other public areas in Gibraltar, with specific added care for the crushed stone areas within the enclosures, added the planning statement.

These are to be regularly hosed down and raked by relevant Dog Park Operator/Specialists who are to establish specific cleaning regimes. It also noted that dog waste is to be disposed of by the park users in dedicated dog waste bins.

If the park gets the go ahead, it will make it the second park for dogs on the Rock, the Alameda dog park was opened in 2016.

Ten years ago, the DPC heard of the Government’s plans to convert the top of both Montagu and North Bastion Counterguards (West Place of Arms) into dog parks, with one section for small dogs and one for large dogs with works due to have started later that year.

In the Government’s 2019 manifesto, it pledged to upgrade the existing area for dogs in the Alameda Gardens, and complete the proposed dog park in the Europa Pool area. It also had plans for a purpose-built dog park on Queensway.

Now, post Covid, this is the first application for such a facility on the Rock.