Peter Rabbit hops too far

BY LANI OATAWAY

Filming for the cult classic children’s book Peter Rabbit in Eastern Sydney’s Centennial Parklands has swallowed over half of one of the city’s largest dog parks.

The authority in charge of the Parklands, The Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust, leased a large section of the Park to the private film company PR Productions. The company has held the land since August last year, and will continue to use it until filming wraps up in March.

The Baird Government has also given the film company in charge of the shoot, Animal Logic, $20 million in support through the Made in NSW fund.

Local dog owners are frustrated at the approval of the film’s location. Despite just under half of Centennial Park’s total area being designated as an off-leash zone, the specific dog play area in Federation Valley is where the Trust gave the company the green light to film.

A spokesperson for Animal Logic told City Hub, “Centennial Park was the perfect place to set the scene for our film and in particular the idyllic valley in which Peter Rabbit and friends reside.

“The film site occupies less than 4% of the overall off-leash zones within Centennial Parklands,” the spokesperson said.

But the dog play area in the Valley is an important place for owners to socialise and let their dogs run, but this is being stamped out by the film crew’s presence.

To build the set for Peter Rabbit, staff have driven forklifts and cars through the dog park, putting the safety of dogs at risk.

As the construction for the set neared completion, signs were staked into the ground alerting dog owners of a major production shoot, and gave directions to alternate off-leash areas.

Now that the crew is filming, the set’s gates are oftentimes left open, with one section sporting a gaping hole for dogs to enter.

But Animal Logic insists it is taking adequate precautions to co-exist with the dogs using the park.

“The set in Federation Valley is surrounded with all of the necessary safety requirements to the area, including, but not limited to perimeter fencing, security supervision, and formal traffic management,” the spokesperson told City Hub.

The Peter Rabbit staff are instructing dog owners where they are permitted to walk, and telling owners with loud dogs to leave the area whilst filming. The company has also introduced clearways and blocked road access, stopping owners from parking and using the area.

While speaking to City Hub, dog owners who regularly use the off-leash zone raised concerns about the growing amount of litter left by the film crew. Polystyrene peppers the lawns, a toxic material for dogs and other native wildlife which inhabit the park.

The set itself has caused great damage to the grass and trees in the area. Although some trees have been protected by the crew, many stand bare and are suffering the consequences. And to aid set construction, large concrete blocks have been built into the bushland.

Despite this visible change in the Park, the film company said it will dismantle every piece of the Peter Rabbit set, and the area currently being leased will re-open as normal.

But for now, dogs and their owners will have to continue living alongside the growing presence of Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit.

The Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust were contacted for comment, but did not reply.