2022-12-12 General Committee Meeting Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                    12 DECEMBER 2022


vegetation of the site over time for runway extensions and also notes Council will continue to work
with DES on fire management and pest management activities, as required, should the site
transition to DES.
Disaster Management
Council’s Disaster management unit advises it has no objection to the proposal. It notes the sand
access track to the site was recently upgraded using bushfire recovery funding and the completed
works would transfer to DES responsibility under the transfer. Disaster management advise that
additional egress routes through the National Park for Teewah residents would also be desirable
and likely require upgrade tracks to the north of the reserve for that purpose.
Fire Management
Council’s Fire Management Officer identifies the following wildfire ignition risks from airstrip
operations:
     •    Slashing regime of air strips (potential of ignition from slasher in high fire risk conditions)
     •    Re-fuelling of aircraft
     •    Risk of aircraft crashing on take-off and landing
     •    General visitation of airfield users (cigarette ignition, vehicle access etc.)
There are limited to no boundary tracks delineating the airfield and surrounding national park which
in practice means Council cannot independently mitigate fire risk and relies on QPWS to
cooperatively undertake prescribed burns. The fire management officer is supportive of the
trusteeship transferring to DES for the reasons outlined above which allows reprioritisation of
Council fire resources to other natural areas across the Shire.
Community Services
Council’s Community Services team has no objection to Council relinquishing its trusteeship of the
reserve subject to Council providing feedback to DES regarding the interests of sporting clubs on
the site.
Existing Aviation Uses
Section 2 of this report notes the tenure history and ongoing use of the site by SCSA and NMF.
The landing ground facility and aviation activities were formally considered in a regional context
through Council’s adoption of the Regional Facilities Plan for Difficult to Locate Sports in 2019 (see
https://www.noosa.qld.gov.au/downloads/file/1295/regional-facilities-plan-dtl-final-feb-2019). The
Plan for Difficult to Locate Sports does not provide further information to contextualise the Region
Management Plan process but in relation to the Noosa North Shore landing ground the Plan
recommends:
For gliding, small aircraft, parachuting and Ultralight participants it is important that existing facilities
and access be maintained at the four airport/ aerodrome facilities and that access to the North
Shore Landing Ground be retained (Ultra-Light use); pending outcomes from the review/ update of
the Great Sandy Region Management Plan.
Noosa Plan 2020
The Noosa Plan 2020 Strategic Outcomes – Section 3.3.6 (n) Transport and Movement states:
Use of the Noosa North Shore Airstrip will not be expanded and the airstrip will ultimately be closed.
6.       User Group Feedback on State Proposal
On 7 November 2022, Council notified both aviation clubs of the State’s proposal to transfer the
trusteeship of the reserve to DES to allow it to transfer to National Park. The notification included
DoR’s letter (Attachment 1) and the opportunity to provide feedback to Council regarding the
proposal. This feedback is provided in Attachment 6 and 7 and summarised below.




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