MCU12/0012 Notice of Submission Nicola Brand - Not Properly Made

Subject: MCU12/0012 Notice of Submission Niki Brand
From: Niki Brand
Date: 2012-04-26T21:21:37+00:00
To: Internet Mailbox Sunshine Coast Regional Council

Dear Jack Lewis

	 

	 

	Application MCU12/0012 Noosa Quad Bikes

	 

	 

	I am a very concerned local resident and wish to oppose the application

	lodged by Charles Marais on the basis that I know my safety and the safety

	of other trail 3 users will be severely compromised. Track 3 was allotted by

	council for use by bush walkers, bicycle riders and horse riders, and

	therefore this makes it unfit for quad bike users. A horse would most likely

	panic if confronted by a tour of quad bike riders. This could result in the

	death of the rider. A police permit was approved without having fully

	considered the safety of horse riders.

	 

	Most trail bike riders are au fait with trail etiquette , by switching off

	their engines till we pass, or changing their course to go the other way.

	This will not be the case with inexperienced quad bike users.

	 

	Mr Marais states that his tours would take in flora and fauna and not damage

	the trails. This is not a reasonable statement. I have firsthand experience

	of how fragile these trails are and acknowledge that they are only serviced

	once annually. They will not cope with the added traffic. Also once the

	tourists learn these routes they will be back in their 4WDs to do even more

	damage. Suddenly we will have damaged trails full of litter that are

	unusable by anyone. Already parts of the trails are almost unpassable by

	vehicular traffic in this area, to risk an increase in traffic is not

	sustainable. Fauna will leave the area due to the disturbance of noise

	pollution from the additional traffic, risking the existence of the

	endangered Coxen's Fig Parrot that inhabits this area "In 2000 it was

	estimated that there are no more than 100 mature individuals of the

	subspecies left, with the population severely fragmented and continuing to

	decline" (quoted from  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coxen's_Fig-Parrot <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coxen's_Fig-Parrot> >

	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coxen's_Fig-Parrot <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coxen's_Fig-Parrot> ) 

	 

	Mr Marais conducted the noise impact study himself together with a sound

	Engineer; this did not include testing the noise of the bikes whilst being

	used on the trails by inexperienced riders. Test conditions were confined to

	an area on his property. Having spoken to a property owner close by, they

	commented that already the noise is very irritating and loud, and that

	locals had moved there for  peace and quiet.

	 

	The owner of the business states "Only 5 households out of the whole

	Sunshine Coast have submitted objections to council raising concerns that

	have already been addressed" I recently conducted a petition online and have

	close to 100 signatures and growing; I believe this shows

	that there is considerable opposition to the application, and that all objections have

	not been addressed. I for one have not had my objections addressed and

	neither have the persons who have signed the petition. Most of the persons I

	have spoken with had not heard about the application, which begs the

	question where was it advertised? Apparently the sign on Mr Marais' gate was

	not visible because of the position of the gate.

	 

	 

	Mr Marais states "We shall advertise and promote the tours with a courtesy

	free mini bus service. This service will provide door to door collection and

	drop off. In addition we will encourage visitors from areas serviced by

	public transport to use the train and bus service, offering a free pick up

	from the local station situated 3Kms from the property. This will reduce the

	vehicle traffic to the property to the lowest. This is estimated to be on average

	one car per tour commuting to our property. The traffic will therefore have

	no additional impact to the road network or Tablelands Road." The fact 

	is that the trains only arrive at Cooran at 7.40pm on Saturdays and at

	8.17pm and midday on weekdays; in the light of this, predicting  an average of only one car

	per tour is extremely unlikely.

	 

	 

	To answer Charles' comment on Petition Online - Noosa Trail users against

	Quad Bike Tours "signs and rules show no horses are allowed in this park"

	referring to Woondum National park; horses were allowed back into National

	parks in 2008, and horses are allowed to use the tracks through Woondum National

	park with the exception of the ones that state no horses. Again I expect we

	would be sharing the same tracks here also. I and many other horse riders and local residents strongly feel

   that this can only be disastrous for the entire community of this area; a community that will be severely damaged by an

    approval for this unwanted, noisy and potentially dangerous business.

	.

	 

	 

	 

	Yours sincerely

	 

	Nicola Brand