By Christine de Kock
THE Seddon Cricket Club has stepped into the fray regarding Yarraville’s Greelish Oval being used by dog-owners during the cricket season.
The club uses the oval for weekend cricket games and at the end of the season practice sessions.
Rolf Tamburro, the club secretary, said there was no problem with dog-owners using the pitch in the off-season.
But he said the pitch needed to be protected from the dogs during the cricket season.
He said the pitch was prepared two or three times a week and dogs often walked on it.
He said a rabbit-wire fence had been put up previously around the pitch but the club curator found it difficult to remove and re-erect the fence when maintaining it.
“We pay the curator an extra hour or more just to do that and really, he can’t do it on his own.”
At present a rope supported by wooden stakes surrounds the pitch.
“We also spend a good 15 minutes before a game picking up dog droppings,” he said.
“A lot of dog-owners pick it up but there are some that don’t.”
Yarraville resident Martin Fluker, said several dog owners walked their dogs every morning and night at the oval, throughout the year.
He said several dog-owners would be angry and upset if forced to move.
Officers at Maribyrnong City Council discussed proposed changes with dog-owners to the off-lead area at Greelish Oval, last week as part of a public consultation.
Earlier this year it was suggested that the council could change regulations and force dog owners to use the disused lawn bowls area instead.
The council’s leisure and open space manager Lisa King told Star in June that the council was considering using the disused lawn bowls area as a dedicated off-lead zone.
“Council completed a master plan for Yarraville Gardens in 2004,” she said.
“What came out of that consultation was a very strong desire for dog owners to have a dedicated off-lead area.”
She said Greelish Oval was not a dedicated off-lead area and the challenge was to manage limited public space for all users.
Mr Fluker said if dog owners were forced to run their dogs in a smaller area it was likely that the animals would fight.
“I hope we are able to share the oval, we are ratepayers,” he said.
Mr Fluker added that the oval was a community hub as dog owners also met and socialised with each other.
He said that they were usually observant and picked up dog droppings, “if we see something we generally gesture to the owner”.
“But if dog owners are talking and behind them a dog quickly does something they might not see it to pick it up.”
He questioned why an easily managed fence could not be erected around the cricket pitch.
Mr Tamburro said the club had used the oval for the past 80 years and most of its members were also Maribyrnong ratepayers.
