A plan to investigate the future of seasonal overflow parking at Noosa Heads’ Lions Park will proceed after councillors were split over how the issue should be handled.
Noosa Council’s General Committee voted on Tuesday to prepare a Land Management Plan for the reserve, including consideration of temporary overflow parking during peak holiday periods.
The decision follows council’s move last month to scrap the seasonal parking program, which had accommodated up to 250 vehicles and generated about $250,000 for community causes over six years.
The Tewantin Noosa Lions Club had expressed disappointment at the decision, arguing the parking helped ease congestion during the Christmas holiday period while funding local community projects.
At Tuesday’s meeting, council considered advice on the legal process and likely costs involved in allowing seasonal parking to continue.
Cr Amelia Lorentson and Cr Jessica Phillips proposed first obtaining legal advice on whether the parking could be considered an incidental or auxiliary use of the recreational reserve.
That amendment was defeated, with Cr Lorentson and Cr Phillips voting for it and Cr Karen Finzel, Cr Tom Wegener, Cr Frank Wilkie and Cr Nicola Wilson against.
The pair then proposed a scoped Land Management Plan covering 21 days of Christmas overflow parking.
That motion was lost on the chair’s casting vote, with Cr Lorentson, Cr Phillips and Cr Wilson voting for it and Cr Finzel, Cr Wegener and Cr Wilkie against.
The broader Land Management Plan was supported by Cr Finzel, Cr Lorentson, Cr Phillips and Cr Wilson, with Cr Wegener and Cr Wilkie voting against.
The plan must be prepared in accordance with the Land Act and Queensland Government guidelines for managing trust land. Council will also write to the relevant minister seeking approval for this year’s process.
The council report estimates the work could take six to 12 months and cost between $30,000 and $75,000, excluding staff time. The work is currently unplanned and unfunded, with funding implications to be considered through a future budget review.
The decision does not mean overflow parking has been approved to return to Lions Park.
Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb.
A further report will outline the plan’s scope, costs, funding implications and proposed consultation timeline before substantive work begins.
The process will also need to consider the reserve’s status as State-owned trust land and Native Title considerations.
