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Cromwell Dogs Charitable Trust

Dogs in pines 2.jpg
Dogs in pines 2.jpg

Save Cromwell’s Only Safe Off-Leash Dog Space

Cromwell is at risk of losing 97.6% of its off-leash dog walking areas with no confirmed replacement.

The Simple Version

  • Cromwell Community Board has voted to close the entire 60-hectare Sandflat Road pine block to the public, not to fell it (due to cost), but to remove public access entirely

  • This would eliminate roughly 97.6% of Cromwell's off-leash dog exercise space, with no replacement

  • Council has confirmed in writing that the Board was given no written legal advice or safety evidence before voting

  • The forest was deemed low risk by the CODC's arborist report

  • The full Central Otago District Council makes the final decision on 24 June 2026. We're asking them to take our offer of fundraising and volunteering to help them keep the area safe.

The Timeline

  • Nov 2025 → Felling of Sandflat Road pines recommended

  • Nov 2025 → Felling confirmed

  • Feb 2026 → Petition launched + community response

  • Feb 2026 → Community Board describes trees as "unsafe" and "diseased" 

  • March 2026 → Independent arborist report, funded by the Cromwell Dogs community, finds trees structurally sound with no disease

  • March 2026 → Decision upheld, reasoning shifts to 'more cost-effective to fell both blocks at once' and 'this is a forestry block that was always going to be harvested'

  • April 2026 → Community funds a second arborist report to explore whether some trees could be retained for shared community use. No update on felling from Council despite an 'April felling date'

  • May 2026 → Community fundraiser launched to cover the cost of the second independent arborist report

  • Early June 2026 → CODC hires Laurie Forestry to assess the forest. Report rates it "low risk" and recommends signage, temporary closure during high winds, and reassessment after any major wind event

  • Early June 2026 → Cromwell Dogs offers to fund this work and volunteers to install/remove the signage

  • Early June 2026 → CODC says it has no funds to manage this yet the same Cromwell Community Board approved $128,500 in community and events grants, including $95,000 to Cromwell & Districts Promotions Group and $15,000 to Cromwell BMX Club 

  • Early June 2026 → Cromwell Community Board votes unanimously not to fell the pines, but to close the entire 60-hectare Sandflat Road block to the public immediately, citing tree/branch safety risk and CEO liability, despite Laurie Forestry's own "low risk" rating

  • 10 June 2026 → Council confirms in writing that the "CEO could face jail" warning was verbal only and the Board received no written legal advice or WorkSafe precedents before voting

  • 24 June 2026 → Full Central Otago District Council votes on the Board's recommendation (final decision)

What the Expert Arborist Report Found

  • Independent arborist report (community-funded, March 2026):

    • Trees are structurally sound

    • No widespread disease

    • Recently withstood significant wind events

    • Maintenance recommended instead of removal

  • CODC's own arborist report (Laurie Forestry, hired by Council, June 2026):

    • Rates public safety risk as LOW under normal conditions

    • Recommends signage, temporary closure during high winds, and reassessment after major wind events, not removal or permanent closure

    • Bottom line: one independent report and one commissioned by Council itself both conclude the forest does not need to be removed or permanently closed.

What Council Has Stated

  • Harvesting both forests together was framed as more cost-effective (March 2026), but now it's too expensive (June 2026)

  • Council's own arborist (Laurie Forestry) rated the forest's safety risk as LOW

  • The Community Board voted to close the entire 60-hectare block to the public, citing tree/branch safety risk and potential CEO liability (June 2026)

  • Council has confirmed in writing that this closure decision was made without written legal advice or WorkSafe precedents (10 June 2026)

Community Impact: Conflict

Forcing hundreds of dogs into a single, small space beside a busy road, cycle path and playground creates a high-risk environment, increasing the likelihood of conflict between dogs, cyclists, children, neighbours and the wider community.

Community Impact: Loss of Shade

Loss one of the only shady spaces usable in extreme heat/sunshine  is a health and safety concern from The Cancer Society.

Community Impact: Mental Wellbeing

Impact on everyday routines for hundreds of locals who have walked their with and without their dogs for up to 40 years

What we are questioning as a community

  • Initial concern was safety → now framed as cost → now safety and liability

  • This land is endowment land for the good of the Cromwell Community, locking us out doesn't fit that 

  • Decisions continue to appear to be made before full consultation

What we are asking for

  • Reject the recommendation to permanently close the Sandflat Road block to the public.

  • Instead, adopt Laurie Forestry's actual recommendations including signage and closure only during high-wind events, with reassessment afterward.

  • Accept the community's standing offer to fund and resource those measures (signage, inspections) at no cost to Council.

  • Provide the written legal/H&S advice and WorkSafe precedents that should have backed the original closure vote, before ratifying it.

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