Dunois Reserve Watercraft Storage
Stage 2 - Concept Design
In the spirit of reconciliation, Lane Cove Council acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land, the Cameraygal people. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today. October 2025
Background and Principles
This proposal for dinghy racks at Dunois Reserve follows a September 2025 Lane Cove Council resolution (208/25) to prepare a draft design for community consultation.
Initial community consultation strongly supported the installation of racks (82% of responses), noting that the area is valued for its natural beauty, and was used for a range of recreational activities. The current informal storage of watercraft creates clutter and has an impact on the reserve’s ecology, causing damage to sensitive mangrove and saltmarsh habitats.
This proposal aims to:
Maximise Watercraft Storage: Address the community need for organised dinghy storage.
Protect the Environment: Mitigate and prevent further damage to sensitive ecological areas.
Ensure Balance: Maintain the reserve’s natural character while meeting storage needs.
Site Analysis
Dunois Reserve is a highly used waterfront in Woodford bay, Lane Cove.
The waterfront has a small grassed reserve with swing set called Griffith Park, adjacent to a sailing club, a series of leased boathouses attached to land via jetty, the historic Lucretia baths, currently in disrepair and inaccessible, a working slipway and a stretch of remnant bushland to the east.
Vehicle access is limited to a small street with informal parking along the southern edge and intermittent concrete kerb and gutter.
While there are no publicly accessible storage facilities on site, smalls watercrafts, such as kayaks and dinghies, are often stored informally along the foreshore, mainly at the eastern end. The number of vessels exceeds the area’s capacity, obstructing bushland, access routes, and encroaching on mangrove and saltmarsh habitats
Griffith Park
Sailing Club
Remnant Bushland
DunoisStreet
Woodford Bay
Lucretia Baths
Dunois Reserve Aerial (Nearmap) - NTS
Watercraft Storage
Site analysis suggests that there are more then 70 dinghys, canoes and kayaks stored along the waterfront. Some are used regularly, and others either abandoned or not used for more than 12 months.
LCC would like to maximise the capacity of dinghy storage, freeing up waterfront space for other users and habitat, whilst not adversely impacting waterfront users.
The following infrastructure is put forward for consideration:
– vertical dinghy racks (least area per dinghy)
– horizontal dinghy racks (most accessible, most area per dinghy)
– combination of the above
Elsewhere in Lane Cove LGA, Burns Bay Reserve has racks installed however demand exceeds supply, and improper storage and dumping still occurs. Neighbouring Councils employ a pricing system to address this issue, guaranteeing racks for regular watercraft users.
Precedent Studies
Existing Condition
Vertical Dinghy storage racks at Burns Bay Reserve Horizontal Dinghy/Kayak storage racks at Sandy Bay, Clontarf
Dinghy storage on Edge at Flushing Sailing Club, Cornwall, UK
Horizontal Dinghy storage racks at Berry Reserve, Narrabeen
Ad-hoc storage preventing safe access for watercraft users and causing damage to vegetation
Stacked kayaks and dinghys preventing foreshore maintenance and access
Storage creep along foreshore into adjacent bushland
Potential Locations - Concept Plan
The diagram illustrates a range of options that could be further developed with detailed site survey investigations. Locations are chosen based on currently practiced storage behaviour, mitigating impacts on other areas of the reserve. These are within designated zones to identify what the community would like to prioritise.
When identifying potential sites, the following principles have been employed:
– safe access to waterfront and watercraft storage
– maintain access to slipway, baths and boat sheds
– preserve and protect existing vegetation and open space wherever possible
The proposal aims to maximise storage capacity without compromising access or disturbing ecologically sensitive areas. However, it should be noted that it is not possible for a formal storage infrastructure to have capacity to accommodate the significant quantity of watercraft items found on this foreshore.
Legend
Proposed Formalised Storage - Vertical racks
Proposed Formalised Storage - Low bar
Potential no. of storage spaces
Griffith Park
Remnant Bushland DunoisStreet
Woodford Bay
Lucretia Baths
Dunois Reserve Aerial (Nearmap) - NTS
Potential Locations - Concept Sketches
(preliminary artist impressions only - subject to detail design, consultation and funding)
Locator Plan
3. View from the Reserve looking East
1. View from the end of Dunois St, Looking North West
2. View from the end of Dunois Street looking south east
