More than seven years after Noosa Council purchased about 49 hectare of land in Cooroibah known as Johns Landing for $2 million, it plans to update its ecological restoration plan, but has made no progress on developing the land for community use though acknowledging community interest in the site which borders Noosa River.
In response to a question from local resident Andrew McCarthy at council’s ordinary meeting on council’s plans for the development and use for the site Strategy and Environment director Kim Rawlings said about 70 per cent of the site had been allocated for nature conservation and 30 per cent earmarked for future consideration of recreational use.
In 2018, then Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch announced announced a partnership between the Queensland Government and Noosa Council to protect “Johns Landing Nature Refuge,“ a 35 hectare area, about 70 per cent of the property, containing sensitive environment values including habitat for koalas and a further 10 threatened species.
“It boasts four regional ecosystems of significant biodiversity value, and provides landscape connectivity to Great Sandy National Park and Una Corbould Nature Refuge,“ she said at the time.
“An Ecological Restoration Plan was developed and has been diligently followed by Council,“ Ms Rawlings told last week’s meeting. “However, the 2019 bushfires severely impacted the Nature Refuge section, hindering the previously set restoration targets. Council will likely update this restoration plan soon to better inform restoration efforts.“
Ms Rawlings said Council budgeted about $12,000 annually for rehabilitation in the Nature Refuge section and about $10,000 annually for maintenance of access tracks and open paddocks, managing hazardous trees and weeds and a fire management plan had been developed for the reserve.
“Council acknowledges community interest in the potential use of the Johns Landing site for public and community purposes. Any future consideration of development and use of the site would involve a thorough assessment process, including site evaluations, due diligence and feasibility studies in accordance with Council’s Strategic Land Activation Policy,“ she said.
The property had been home for the Johns family since 1896.
For many years Pat and Ben Johns provided campsites at Johns Landing for people wanting affordable holidays and those with nowhere else to go.
In 2017 Ben Johns told Noosa Today when council approached the couple, who wanted to retire, to buy the 49-hectare property it gave him “an option he didn’t know (he) had”.
Their son Ian Johns said the family could no longer maintain the campsite, which at the time had 20-30 sites rented with mostly long-term residents and numbers in the hundreds during holiday periods.
As part of its negotiations to purchase the land, council assembled a team of local services made up of representatives from a wide range of community and government agencies to find more suitable permanent accommodation for long-term residents of the campground.
While providing cheap accommodation for low-income battlers, the campsites lacked electricity or running water and people were living a long way from shops, schools and other services.
