Dog washing facilities and training areas could be coming to Elmbridge parks after rise in dog ownership in recent years

The borough council is looking to bring in more money from its green spaces, but is likely to rule out charging for car parking at its parks and open spaces.

A cabinet meeting on Wednesday (November 22) will look at options for raising revenue, especially considering the rise in dog ownership in the borough in recent years.

A self-service dog wash is one option being looked at, with officers saying the best option would be to get an independent company to install and run a facility with some licence fee or a profit share coming back to the council.

Two sites that have been identified as having high footfall for dogs are Hurst Park, in Molesey and Cowey Sale, in Walton.

It is thought this could bring in around £1,000 per year on each site.

Such dog washing units are often installed alongside existing facilities, and have warm water and dryers to sort pups out after a muddy walk.

As well as this, the council is looking at providing for the increased number of people using dog agility courses and dedicated training areas.

The council said two possible locations for dog exercise and agility areas were the Queens Road open space, in Hersham, and the tennis courts at West End recreation ground in Esher.

A decision was previously made not to renew the tennis court when it comes to the end of its life, with issues at the site including the need to dig a trench to put in a more secure gate, the possibility of tree roots growing under the court and an oil pipeline in the area.

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A report published ahead of Wednesday’s cabinet meeting said: “Queens Road open space is currently underutilised and suffers from regular fly tipping.”

Officers said the existing grassed spaces could be used for a fenced off dog exercise and agility area.

They added: “With increased presence in the car park this could be beneficial in reducing the fly tipping and providing a dedicated area for dogs to be exercised / trained.”

The sites would be managed similarly to tennis courts in the borough, being fenced and gated off and accessed or booked via a paid-for booking service.

Under the plans, dog trainers would also be able to book areas to carry out more formal training.

Documents showed the council has brought in around £120,000 additional income per year since 2019/20 through new income streams at its open spaces.

Uses include a new scheme for charging for tennis courts in parks, charging personal trainers running boot camps in parks and green spaces, concessions for mobile catering and the hiring of open spaces for events like fairs and circuses.

The report said: “In recent years, especially following the Covid pandemic there has been a significant increase in the use of local open spaces and their value to the local communities.

“Behavioural patterns have changed with more people continuing to work from home, and many more people have taken to using local green spaces.

“This has placed additional pressures on many of the services and facilities provided.”