A research report to explore options for Noosa Junction to operate as a thriving entertainment precinct while addressing conflicts between live music venues and the residential community will be prepared by council, but resources to fund identified outcomes will be decided later in the budget.
The request for the report was put to council’s ordinary meeting last month by Cr Amelia Lorentson with its aim to “provide insights into various management frameworks … looking at successful examples like Nambour’s SEP … highlighting their pros and cons and evaluating how they could be adapted for Noosa”, recognising costs or resource implications must be considered in future budget deliberations.
The meeting heard Noosa Junction has long been identified in the Noosa Plan as a hospitality centre, issues between the vibrant centre and surrounding residents were not new, any funds committed to the issue immediately would need to be diverted from other planned strategies and council was already doing a considerable amount of work to resolve issues in the area.
“Research would inform us as to what are the options,” Council CEO Larry Sengstock told the meeting. “We’ve got an issue. We’re not all experts in this space. Let’s look at what’s working, what’s not. Then if it is a much bigger piece and if it’s going to have an impact on everything else we’re doing that has to be considered as a group and where it fits in the overall plan of delivery for all the things we currently do as a council.”
Staff told the council meeting they were “doing quite a bit in this space”.
“Council know that we are getting updates and briefs from the Office of Gaming and Liquor on the issues that are going on. We’ve had planning scheme amendments going out and feedback on this and we’ve engaged with the community on that. We’ve recently engaged with the new night time economy commissioner,” staff said.
When Cr Karen Finzel asked if the issues at the junction could be included in council’s cultural strategy staff said the “planning scheme talks about the junction being an hospitality precinct. It also talks about it being an important creative dynamic space, so I think there is opportunity there”.
“We have planning scheme amendments that have been out for consultation. They propose to extend the hours of operation to align with existing venues that have those hours of operation and with other areas in the shire including Hastings Street. We got substantial feedback on that because of issues and deputations from residents,” staff said. “That’s all being considered at the moment and being worked through with council, how we balance that the best way going forward, noting that there is a strategic intent for Noosa Junction to be an area of hospitality.”
“To clarify,” Mayor Frank Wilkie said, “the advice we have is there are already venues down there that have licences to operate until midnight seven days a week. Amendments seek equity in this space. Other businesses would like the same hours of operation. That’s not to say music and entertainment in outdoor spaces will also continue until midnight seven days a week. That’s not happening. It’s only live acoustic music in outdoor spaces until 12 midnight Friday and Saturday, 9pm the rest of the week and amplified music in outdoor spaces until 10pm Friday and Saturday and no proposed changes to that.”
Council staff said Noosa Junction was one of our two major centres in Noosa with a clearly articulated strategic vision and direction.
“You’d hope people moving in to Noosa Junction would understand what they’re moving into in terms of a centre and vibrancy, delivery of music, all those things. We have acoustic requirements for residential developments in our centres already in our planning schemes. Some of the issues we’re facing is residents who live outside the centre and been there some time and the centre is evolving so there is some changing nature of the centre,” staff said.
Cr Wilkie said the Noosa plan wanted to achieve balance for the hospitality precinct and the rights of residents, some who have been there for decades, some peace in their homes at a reasonable hour.
“The Junction is unique in that you do have residents living hard up against a precinct where these sort of uses happen. I don’t know if that’s the case in Nambour. We want something that’s tailored to fit Noosa Junction. We don’t know what that is at the moment,” he said.
Cr Jess Phillips who grew up in Noosa said from as far back as she could remember Noosa Junction had been a hub of vibrant night life offering a place where people can come together and enjoy live music and a sense of community.
“That’s what makes it special, all the cultures and live music makes it thrive. As a former police officer and shift worker I can appreciate a peaceful night’s sleep like everyone else. From our endorsed economic development strategy it’s clear that live music and nightlife isn’t just a luxury, it’s essential to our local economy. Our local venues provide jobs, encourage visitors and space for people to enjoy a night out. In this cost of living crisis, supporting these businesses has never been more important. This motion shows we’re trying to support options, find a model that works for us,” she said.
Cr Brian Stockwell said newly arisen issues were continuing to push back previously agreed strategies including the Pomona place making project, the Noosa River plan and the Destination Management Plan.
Cr Stockwell said the noise issue was not new, having been identified during a Noosa Junction place making meeting 8-9 years ago.
“It’s a political issue because we have people breaching their licence, it’s causing a new lot of residents to be disrupted in their life,” he said.
“Are we going to flip flop to everything as soon as it gets a bit of media traction. We then divert staff off all those things we thought were a priority beforehand. It is an issue. It has been addressed. We have scope within the current planning scheme we can deliberate on and do it.”
