Council issued the following statement on Facebook this afternoon.

“We owe the city's active user groups an apology.

You may have heard we had contacted a small number of social groups about applying for an event permit under the Community Local Law 2017.

The Local Law was not designed to restrict these sort of activities, if anything we would like to encourage more groups and individuals to use our wonderful public spaces such as Lake Wendouree.

We understand we have a duty of care to ensure the safety of those using the city's community spaces, but in no way do we wish to create obstacles for these people.

We apologise for this misunderstanding or any stress our approach may have caused.”

EARLIER, TUESDAY: A walking group for adopted greyhounds has been muzzled from gathering in public without applying for a City of Ballarat permit. 

Organisers of the Ballarat Adopted Greyhound Walking Group were contacted by City of Ballarat in June, and told they may be in breach of local laws as they hadn’t registered as holding events and would potentially need an event permit and liability insurance.

Meeting twice a month at Lake Wendouree for a short walk, the greyhound gatherings host up to 15 people, along with the adopted dogs.

Details of walks were shared within a closed Facebook group, which council officers considered ‘advertising’ and requiring an event application under local laws. A running group received similar council advice.

The group’s organiser Hayley Lennon said it is an opportunity for new dog owners to meet and combat the breed’s stigma following live-baiting scandals.

“It’s just a friendly walk that’s been going for four years,” she said. "Especially the older members and those that have a therapy greyhound, it’s one of their major outings for the month and helps them socialise.

“Council should want us to use public spaces, if it’s logical and safe … would mums who push prams around the lake have to apply?”

The group have cancelled this week’s walk.

City of Ballarat Acting Director Amy Boyd said she would contact the Ballarat Adopted Greyhound Walking Group organisers to discuss their concerns and work with them to ensure they can continue their activities.

In Victoria, greyhounds need to be leashed at all times. From January 1 next year, the breed will not have to be muzzled while in public.

City of Ballarat’s Community Local Law adopted in December states residents must not “organise any event, unless in possession of an Event Permit from the Council” on municipal land.

Ballarat Adopted Greyhound Walking Group organiser Ange Elson said “no other greyhound walk in the state” had this issue. 

“The issue we have is that we don’t have clarity on the by-laws, and we looked on the generic event list and there’s absolutely nothing on there that our informal group aligns with,” she said. 

“This is just stupid bureaucracy getting in the way of a good casual community get-together.

"We’re not a formal organisation, we don’t benefit and we don’t have fees .. and greyhounds just like being with their own breed, because of the way they’re raised and the industry, it helps them settle.”

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The Goldfields Trail Runners also received contact from council stating they needed to register events with council, or stop sharing details on Facebook.

Organiser David Fraser said his group was able to instead register with Athletics Victoria and receive public liability insurance, with $200 of the payment covered by The Running Company.

“It was a pretty good result for us, because it is so much easier for us to continue sharing our trail runs in our Facebook group, and members can download the running routes onto their watches,” he said.