2017-06-06 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                       6 JUNE 2017


Due to the increasing intensity of use of the site and escalation of complaints, in mid-2015
Council sought to undertake a collaborative process with SCSA to address the issues raised by
residents. In response the SCSA developed a suite of actions to address the issues, including:
1.    Design of new signage for installation at both the Tingira Crescent and northern Sunshine
      Beach launch sites which includes site rules and contact details for the SCSA Safety
      Officers for pilot / public queries if they have concerns regarding flying activities.
2.    All pilots are required to be members of the SCSA and agree to follow the Code of Conduct
      on the SCSA website.
3.    A Duty Pilot system has been implemented.
4.    Radios are now compulsory for all pilots to carry at all SCSA sites allowing for increased
      communication between pilots, Safety Officers and the Duty Pilot.
5.    Enhanced education for pilots / members of SCSA – the Code of Conduct is a standard
      agenda item at meetings and in the SCSA newsletter.

On 15 March 2016, Council Officers met with SCSA to discuss the implementation of the actions
and Council advised that, due to legal matters raised by residents, legal advice would be sought
on the use of the Site for hang gliding and paragliding activities and Council would meet again
with SCSA once advice was received.

King & Company Solicitors provided advice to Council on 19 May 2016, the key points being:
   Continuing to permit use of the Tingira Crescent lot as a gliding launch / landing site
     exposes Council to liability in nuisance to Tingira Crescent residents and residents in the
     broader area of the flight paths;
   Neither Council nor the gliding fraternity could defend a nuisance claim upon the basis the
     gliding activities pre-date residential development;
   The likely remedy for nuisance would be an injunction against Council and/or the gliding
     club and its members. An order for payment of damages is sufficiently unlikely that Council
     may ignore it;
   An action for negligence is unlikely to succeed against Council as there is an insufficient
     link between Council permitting use of the site and the damage / injury a glider may cause;
   A glider operating inside the Civil Aviation Act requirements is irrelevant to liability in
     nuisance; and
   Council may exercise its rights as owner to exclude the activities from the land. It may also
     address the issue at local law level, to facilitate fining those who continue to use the Site for
     flying activities.

On 30 May 2016, Council Officers met with the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS)
regarding hang gliding and paragliding activity and opportunities to secure additional regional
sites. QPWS manage the north Sunshine Beach site, Teewah site and the Carlo sand blow site
at Rainbow Beach. In summary, QPWS advised:
     A permit is offered to SCSA at north Sunshine Beach (a permit to land and a permit to
       launch);
     There is no intention to permit increased usage at the north Sunshine Beach site
       (commercial operators etc.);
   North Sunshine Beach does not attract as many flyers because it is more difficult to access
     and flyable only in southerly winds;
   The Teewah site was undergoing renovations because the existing wooden ramp was
     unsuitable for the increasing popularity of paragliding and concerns over entanglement to
     the structure from paragliders (as of 6 June 2017 works are complete); and
   Their availability to meet with Council and the SCSA to determine suitable Sunshine Coast
     inland locations in addition to the other locations.

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