People exercising their pooches at the Ashburton Dog Park can now use the new 20-space car park at the facility, with access off Cass Street next to the new Kmart development.

A sloping path leads from the carpark to the entrance to the dog park, which has separate areas for small and all dogs. The entrance also has plastic poo bags and a water foundation for both dogs and humans.

Community Services Group Manager Steve Fabish said there was still work to do on the new dog park entrance but people could begin using the car park.

“Staff will be installing rubbish bins and there’s also agility equipment to put in, as well as a shingle path and more plants. We’ll be planting extra trees inside the exercise areas for shade.”

The dog park has had a big makeover, following the floods of May 2021 when it was mostly under water after the Ashburton River burst its bank, taking out fences and depositing shingle and debris around the park.

It has been rebuilt 50 per cent bigger, with new fences, new dog play equipment and a new entrance off Cass Street.

“As well as undertaking the repair work, we have removed trees, recontoured the bank to make it easier to mow and maintain, and increased the overall area by quite a lot. It’s getting great use and we’ve had lots of positive feedback,” Mr Fabish said.

“The new car park has room for 20 vehicles and lighting, and we encourage people use this space rather than the old car park at the end of William Street.”

The dog park is a designated area where people can exercise their dogs off the leash.