This weekend sees the opening of Cramlington’s first dog park!

There’s a new place for canines in Cramlington to have some off-leash fun as the town’s first ever dog park opens its gates this weekend to dogs… and their human companions!

‘Jubilee Bark’ is situated within Alexandra Park and Cramlington Town Council has invested £20,000 in the facility that provides a secure environment for dogs to socialise and for their owners to get to know each other too.

Guests invited to the opening celebrations include Gemma Fowle, Northumberland County Council Animal Welfare Officer who will promote the Green Dog Walker scheme, provide free poo bags as well as free microchipping and advice.

Local charity Dogs First Animal Rescue will be attending along with Pooch & Play Dog Walking, Dog Therapy and Friends of Valley Park.

Councillor Helen Morris, Chair of the Community and Youth Committee said: “The creation of this area follows a public consultation which demonstrated a clear support for such a facility and we liaised with the County Council’s animal welfare team and local charity Dog’s First to identify requirements.”

The park features new benches and bins and there will also be a poo-bag dispenser placed inside the fenced-off area.

Signage lists the rules for using the area. These include that owners must be in control of their pets at all times, children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult and dog waste must be picked up and disposed of immediately. Human food, dogs in season and puppies under four months of age are not allowed in the area.

Pat Heard from local charity Dog’s First said “This is a great opportunity for owners to let their dogs have a good run around as socialising your dog is so important. As I am also a Town Councillor, I may be biased, but I think this is a super addition to the council’s facilities and I am sure it will be well used by the town’s residents – and their four-legged friends!”.

“The dog park will open at 11am on Saturday 25th March we’d love to see you there – and of course dogs are welcome. The celebrations will run until 1pm”

Location: Alexandra Park Activity Zone, area next to the Skate Park – NE23 6EL

Pictured: Pauline and Pat from Cramlington charity Dogs First try out the new dog park.