Dozens of horse-riding enthusiasts are urging authorities to rebuild a horse round yard at a public park after it was dismantled last year.
About 70 people have called on Sunshine Coast Council to provide a new facility to exercise and train horses, replacing the run-down one that was pulled down in May.
“We respectfully petition Sunshine Coast Council to reinstate the horse round yard in Little Mountain Common … potentially extending to a bigger arena with sand,” the request read.
A council spokesperson told Sunshine Coast News the old venue needed to be taken down.
“The horse round yard at Little Mountain Common was an ageing park structure that could no longer be maintained and was becoming a safety concern,” they said.
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The spokesperson said locals were notified that it would pulled down, without objection, and the facility was largely ignored.
“Council installed a sign proposing the round yard be decommissioned and to seek feedback from the community.”
“There was no feedback received during the notification period and no evidence the round yard was being used.”
They said a reconstruction did not represent value for money, and horses were still permitted within areas of Little Mountain Common.
“Council concluded it was not a good use of ratepayer funding to rebuild an asset that was no longer required by the community and given no feedback was received.
“Horse riders can continue to use the park, as signed.
“The site where the round yard previously stood will continue to be used as open park space.”
Little Mountain resident Belinda Mair was among the disappointed locals.
She claimed the old yard was removed without adequate consultation and park-goers did not see notification signs.
She said council’s decision not to rebuild the yard due to budget constraints was “a very disappointing outcome”.
“The round yard was a big part of our estate.”
Ms Mair said it was too dangerous for many people to ride or walk their horses within the open area.
“Unfortunately, people with horses are unable to use the park due to the excessive number of motorbikes, e-scooters and e-bikes that frequent the skate bowl and ride carelessly around the unfenced grassed area,” she said.
“There are also a number of dogs that run off-lead throughout the day, even though there is a fully fenced and maintained dog park on the other side.”
She recounted one incident in the park, when her grand-daughter’s pony got a fright and “ran home, along the road, on her own”.
“A fenced area would have prevented this accident,” she said.
“A fenced (horse) area is what was required – and what we had – to ensure riders and horses were kept safe when lunging (guiding a horse via a line) and riding around.”
Ms Mair believed a new round yard would be affordable and the council could have taken greater care of the old round yard.
“It should have never been pulled down, but simply maintained.”
Horse round yards are rarely seen in public parks and local councillor Jenny Broderick said it was unusual to receive a request for one.
“This is a petition you don’t get every day,” she said.
The paper, with handwritten signatures, was handed to the council’s CEO “to consider and take appropriate action”.
The aerial imagery in this story is from Australian location intelligence company Nearmap. The company provides government organisations, architectural, construction and engineering firms, and other companies, with easy, instant access to high-resolution aerial imagery, city-scale 3D content, artificial intelligence data sets, and geospatial tools to assist with urban planning, monitoring and development projects in Australia, New Zealand and North America.
