Central Otago District Council will proceed with harvesting two pine forest blocks in Cromwell despite a petition signed by more than 600 people opposing the move.

The blocks house popular off-leash dog exercise areas, and the Cromwell Community Board has acknowledged there will likely to be a period when no equivalent dog exercise space is available in the town.

The issue was discussed at Wednesday’s community board meeting, where petition organiser Lisa Telle and her partner Eddie asked the council to consider a paused, staged or partial approach to the larger harvest site on Sandflat Rd.

Community board chair Anna Harrison said the trees were plantation forestry and could not simply be left in place indefinitely.

"They're 40 years old, and there is a lifespan of them being safe,” she said.

She said allowing dog access during harvesting would not be safe, but there was openness to re-establishing a dog exercise area within the Sandflat Rd block once harvesting was complete.

"I don't think there was ever any intention...it would be a loss forever,” she said.

Lisa told the board the two pine blocks made up the vast majority of Cromwell’s off-leash dog exercise space, providing shaded areas where dogs could be exercised safely and away from roads, cycleways, playgrounds and, in some cases, other dogs.

Using council mapping tools, the pair showed once harvesting begins, almost all of the currently marked off-leash area would be lost.

This would leave a small grassy area beside Alpha St and Dustin Park in Pisa Moorings as the only remaining options.

Zoomies Dog Training and Adventures owner Lisa Telle with Roo at one of Cromwell's off-leash dog exercise areas. Image: Supplied

Lisa said feedback gathered through an online survey showed most respondents did not consider those locations suitable.

Concerns raised included safety, lack of shade, limited size and proximity to other park users.

Community board member Mike Casey suggested it may be better to “rip the Band-Aid off”, complete the harvest, and then move quickly to re-establish a suitable off-leash area at Sandflat Rd.

The smaller pine forest block, bordering Bannockburn Rd and the council’s transfer station, has been rezoned for industrial subdivision.

Mike said he supported further investigation into future uses of the Sandflat Rd land, including solar generation, but said those options were not mutually exclusive with retaining space for dog exercise.

Regardless,“the numbers have to stack up”, he said, and any solar proposal would need to deliver value to the community.

He also thanked the petition organisers for their “community leadership”.

Lisa said she accepted the trees may need to be removed but wanted council to work closely with the community on what came next.

She pointed to dog exercise areas such as Jardine Park in Queenstown as an example of what Cromwell could work towards.

Board members also acknowledged there were no other council-owned, tree-covered reserves in Cromwell that could immediately replace the spaces being lost.

Council staff confirmed the two pine blocks are scheduled for felling in April.

Read more: Dog owners rally to save off-leash parks and Dog parks to go as council eyes solar potential for Cromwell

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