Tails wagging for Henley Lake dog park

Emily Ireland emily.ireland@age.co.nz

Masterton’s elected members have signed off on the establishment of a new community-funded dog park on 0.6 hectares of council land at Henley Lake.

The dog park – initiated by Masterton Rotary and Masterton South Rotary – will be developed on the land beside the Henley Mens Shed, which is grazed under licence.

The licensee is comfortable with an end to the lease with threemonth’s notice, a council report said.

A Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] between Rotary and Masterton District Council [MDC] will come back to council for approval next month.

MDC community facilities and activities manager Corin Haines said with any community initiative there is “always the potential for something to come back at council”, but that the MoU will make responsibilities “very clear”.

A report to councillors said likely ongoing costs would relate to maintenance of fence lines and structures and general landscape maintenance.

“It is proposed that an MoU be developed between Rotary South Masterton, Rotary Masterton, and the council to cover funding of the development, ongoing costs, and the process for damage remediation and resolution of any disputes...”

The report also said: “There are no financial considerations as a result of this report, with the funding to come from external sources. In the event that community groups aren’t able to fund costs to maintain the park in the longer-term, council will need to consider what