Meeting papers

2.4 Noosa River Marine Zone                                         2.5 Public open space (POS) context
In 2009, Noosa Council and Maritime Safety Queensland               While not-for-profit club facilities provide access to activities
established the Noosa River Marine Zone under the Transport         for the community, participation typically requires a user-pays
Operations (Marine Safety) Act. The Marine Zone prohibits           system for access to club equipment and facilities. Therefore,
and restricts certain water-based activities and were put in        club facilities can contribute to a reduction in the available
place due to concerns about river safety and amenity. The           public open space. This is an important consideration, along
Noosa River Marine Zone:                                            with other planning inputs.
†† prohibits hovercraft, airboats and sea planes in the river
†† restricts personal jet ski use in the river                      2.5.1 Noosa Council POS
†† restricts commercial jet ski use to the commercial jet ski       Not all open space has a primary purpose of providing
    area located in the lower estuary                               recreation opportunities and is therefore, at times, unsuitable
†† restricts water skiing in the river between the hours of         for use by the public. This includes areas of high ecological
    8am and 5pm daily.                                              and conservation value.
In accordance with recommendations of the Noosa River               The purpose of public open space is to provide appropriate
Plan, relevant stakeholders formed the Noosa River                  land and facilities for people to participate in passive and
Stakeholder Advisory Committee (NRSAC). This committee              active (sport) recreation opportunities.
has recently been instrumental in broad community and
business consultation regarding speed limits for watercraft         The map on the adjacent page provides a visual of the
using the Noosa River.                                              open space context for the area relevant to this project,
                                                                    demonstrating the area’s abundant natural features and
On-water safety is a priority for non-powered water sports          values, as well as public open space.
using the Noosa River. In particular, the activity of rowing
requires participants to ‘face backwards’. Contributing factors     2.5.2 Noosaville and Noosa Heads Public Open
to on-water safety include watercraft speeds and congestion,
including anchoring and mooring.                                    Space
                                                                    The investigation into non-powered water sports is focussed
Noosa River watercraft speeds 2022                                  within Noosaville, due to the need for proximity to the river
                                                                    and coastline, by these sports.
During 2022, Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) undertook
public consultation on a proposal to permanently reduce             The following maps provide an aerial view of the public open
speed limits on Noosa River to 6 knots between Thomas               space along the Noosa River foreshore, as well as the lease
Street and the mouth of the river.                                  areas for both community and commercial activities requiring
                                                                    access to the river.
At the date of writing this report, the speed limits in the Noosa
River commercial personal water craft (PWC) area had not            The maps assist to demonstrate the competing demands
changed.                                                            on the foreshore, and the need to balance community and
                                                                    commercial use, to ensure equitable access.
Noosa River anchor, mooring and on-board living review
2023
At the time of finalising this report, the outcomes of MSQs             STRATEGIC CONTEXT SUMMARY
investigation into vessel waterways management for the                  When considered together, the document and policy review
Noosa River had not been finalised or published.                        highlights a number of key considerations:
When available, the implications of the outcomes of this
report on safe and equitable access to the Noosa River by                 †† Council has a strong sense of environmental
community sporting clubs should be considered.                               custodianship and the need to carefully consider
                                                                             the impacts of infrastructure on limited public open
                                                                             spaces

                                                                          †† Council recognises the importance of active and
                                                                             passive recreation opportunities for community
                                                                             wellbeing

                                                                          †† Competing demands on the foreshore require
                                                                             careful planning to avoid detrimental impacts.

                                                                          †† Establishment of a non-powered water sport
                                                                             Precinct is the preferred direction in Council’s
                                                                             adopted Foreshore Land Use Master Plan

                                                                          †† ‘No net loss of publicly accessible open space’
                                                                             is a driving land use principle for the Noosaville
                                                                             Foreshore.




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                                  Noosa Shire Council

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