Changes to dog exercise areas at Binalup/Middleton Beach, Rushy Point secure council support

Proposed changes to dog access at Binalup/Middleton Beach and Rushy Point will be put to the public after securing support from City of Albany Council. Under changes endorsed unanimously by councillors on Tuesday, dogs would be allowed on leashes on the grassed area south of the playground next to the caravan park and north of the surf club at Binalup/Middleton Beach. Dogs would continue to be banned from all other grassed areas in the precinct and on the beach, but would be allowed on leashes on pathways at the newly designed foreshore. Proposed changes were also given the nod for Rushy Point, a foreshore reserve near Princess Royal Harbour in Little Grove. Currently, dogs must be on a lead at all times in the area from Rushy Lane to Marine Terrace. The changes would see this area, known as a rural leashing area, removed from the policy and replaced with a smaller section where dogs would be banned to protect migratory shorebirds. The remaining area would be open to dogs. An officer’s report states the changes at Rushy Point were proposed after “requests from individuals and groups”. “Since the policy was adopted in 2018, the City has received a number of requests from Birdlife Albany to review the policy to prohibit dogs from the northern foreshore around to the bollards on the eastern side of this reserve where the majority of shorebirds roost,” the report states. “In 2021, the City has received a number of requests from dog walkers to review the policy to allow dogs to be exercised off lead on the eastern side of the reserve. “Initial liaison with dog walkers indicates that the dog walkers would be in support for the remainder of the foreshore to become a dog-prohibited area.” The proposed changes will be put out for public comment for 21 days before returning to the council for a final vote.