2020-02-11 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                11 FEBRUARY 2020


Subsidy scheme
At the November 2016 Ordinary Meeting, Council endorsed the introduction of a subsidised
services initiative for residents around Wallace Park. The scheme was to provide for covers for
cars and clotheslines, automatic air fresheners, professional cleaning of solar panels and access
to high pressure water cleaners estimated at a cost of $10,000. The original program called for it
to be implemented with a trigger amount of 7000 flying-foxes, which was considered a reasonable
figure for the Wallace Park site.
An absolute measure of numbers is not very useful when assessing the impact and potential
support as tens of thousands of flying-foxes in some locations can have little to no impact, when
just a few hundred can have significant impact in other locations.
Expenditure on the program has varied according to the numbers of flying-foxes at the camp;
     2016-17 $4,357
     2017-18 $0
     2018-19 $10,702
     2019-20 $947
The $10,700 spent on the subsidy scheme for residents of Wallace Park in the 18/19 financial year
was a result of a significant long-term influx of tens of thousands of Black and Grey-headed Flying-
foxes. In 19/20, only a further $947 has been spent, as a result of low numbers. The resolution for
the subsidised services scheme from the November 2016 Ordinary Meeting was specifically for
Wallace Park.
Given the success and relatively low cost of the program at Wallace Park, it serves a useful model
by which to mitigate flying-fox impacts for residents given the inability to disperse the flying-foxes
altogether in other locations.
This report proposes that the subsidy scheme be broadened for application across the Shire where
certain conditions are present and regular impacts from flying foxes occurs. The report proposes
to maintain the existing program at Wallace Park on a needs basis and extend the program to other
localities if required.
This report proposes that to enable effective and efficient application of the subsidy program in a
responsive manner to resident concerns, that the CEO may authorise the triggering of financial
support for residents impacts by flying-foxes, on the advice of the Environmental Services
Manager, and in accordance with the following guidelines;
     Support may be offered for those living within 100m of a roost site.
     The roost should be at least partly on Council-managed land.
     Flying-foxes will have been at a location in significant numbers for at least 6 weeks.
     A significant number of the flying-foxes must be Black or Grey-headed Flying-foxes, rather
      than Little Red Flying-foxes.
The types of support will vary depending on the site and the needs of adjacent residents. This may
include, but is not restricted to, car covers, hire of cleaning equipment, clothesline covers, water
tank filters, solar panel cleaning and air fresheners.
All triggers for subsidised initiatives will be reported to Council for noting as soon as practicable,
either as a separate report or as part of the Department quarterly reports, after their implementation
is started.
For the purposes of the guidelines above, a ‘roost site’ is defined as a location that flying-foxes
congregate during the day for the purposes of resting. It is recognised that Little Red Flying-foxes
may occur in very large numbers in Noosa from time to time, however they are extremely mobile
and always move on in a relatively short period of time (6-8 weeks). This not always the case with



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