Keeping and training racing dogs

We have a large greyhound racing facility located in our municipality (Beckley Park), and as such this attracts residents who wish to keep and train dogs on their properties.

Racing dog keeping and training facilities need to be carefully sited and designed.

Key issues that need to be addressed in relation to the use and development of rural land for racing dog keeping and training facilities are:

• noise

• visual impact

• landscape impact

• loss of productive agricultural land

• consistency with adjoining land use  

Objectives

Our objectives when assessing an application to keep greyhounds are:

1. To provide support for appropriate use and development of rural land for racing dog keeping and training facilities.

2. To ensure that use and development of rural land for racing dog keeping and training does not detrimentally impact on the environment and the amenity of the surrounding area.

Policy

It is policy that:

• Racing dog keeping and racing dog training facilities should be located in the Farming Zone.

• Noise disturbance should be minimised by:

• Locating and constructing kennels and other facilities to visually screen dogs from external stimuli such as other dogs, animals, traffic or passers-by.

• Use of earth banks and or vegetation and or manually constructed sound barriers.

• Management regimes that minimise opportunities for noise generated by external stimuli.

• Restriction of feeding to within the hours of sunrise to sunset where practicable.

• Appropriate construction materials for kennels.

• Buffers appropriate to the size of the facility and based on the requirements for ongoing compliance with the above noise controls, be largely provided within the boundaries of the property.

• The facility is designed so that the loss of productive agricultural land is minimised.

• Use of the land for racing dog keeping and racing dog training should not unreasonably compromise the use of adjoining and surrounding land for agriculture.

• The facility be designed so that it does not compromise the farmed rural landscape.

• Where relevant, the facility be designed and operated so that it complies with the Victorian Racing Industry Code of Practice for Operation of Greyhound Establishments.

Find out more

More information can be found in the Greater Geelong Planning Scheme.

Why not find out more about the Planning Permits process

Or you may wish to view our information required for a planning permit checklist.