Dog owners in Mullumbimby have a new leash-free area to walk their hounds with two dog parks now open and ready for use.
Located adjacent to the town's skatepark and near the netball and tennis courts, the two parks are side-by-side.
One is for small dogs and the other is for large dogs.
While people still have to supervise their dogs, the parks are fenced and this means animals can be off-leash to safely explore and socialise.
Jim Roberts, Coordinator Open Spaces, said it's the first park of its type in the Byron Shire.
"When we were working on our Dogs in Public Spaces Strategy several years ago, residents told us they wanted this sort of facility because it would allow them to exercise their dogs off-lead, but importantly, a fenced park would give them an assurance that their pets were not able to run off," Mr Roberts said.
"The location of the new dog parks is on the fringe of the Mullumbimby recreation grounds and it is widely used by many people in the community, especially young people.
"We hope that the new parks will attract people of all ages and will be a place where they can meet up with friends while their dogs have a run and a play," he said.
Council will continue to do work in the parks, with landscaping, seating, a water bubbler and dog agility courses all in the pipeline.
This project was funded by a $160,140 grant from the Australian Government's Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program.
