By Abbey Cannan
A Noosa resident fed up with illegal campers urinating on his fence and being woken by the sound of van doors slamming at all hours of the night has questioned council’s zero-tolerance approach.
Back in January, Local Laws Officers announced they were taking a zero-tolerance approach to illegal camping in Noosa amid growing community frustration.
But Garth Schley said he hasn’t seen the action to back-up this statement after reporting illegal campers in the Albert Street carpark near to his home in Noosaville multiple times.
“Last night there were five vans parked here. This guy parked right here has been here for four nights now and the council have done nothing,” he said.
“They urinate on my fence. They dress in the open. They make noise all hours of the night right outside my bedroom window. My partner has to get up at 4am in the morning to go to work and their sleep is constantly interrupted by people slamming doors and talking.
“The last responses I got from council were ‘Thank you for your request, proactive patrols occur when resources allow’.
“I think the snap, send, solve app is fantastic for us to report it to the Council, but that’s where it goes into a black hole and nothing happens.”
Another local resident, Manfred Wiesenes said, “Where’s the tow truck to tow these vehicles away? At times we’ve had vehicles parked partly over our driveway.”
“Council tells us to call the police because they don’t have the power to move people on or tow the vehicle and then the police tell us we should be ringing the council. It just goes in circles,” Manfred said.
“An easy fix for this is to put a parking limit up for the street, two to three hours or whatever. There’s no signage to even say no campers are allowed here.”
Back in January, community services director Kerri Contini said, “We have limited powers to move people on but given the community’s growing impatience and the health risks associated with illegal camping, we are starting to issue more fines on the spot.“
“It’s important that the community understands that someone staying in an area during the day is not considered illegal camping, “ Ms Contini said.
“However, under the Local Law, it’s an offence to stay, camp or sleep overnight in a vehicle or other mobile accommodation, tent or sleeping bag.”
Noosa Council said their Local Laws officers proactively visit Gympie Terrace as part of council’s ongoing patrols across the shire.
This year alone, council has issued 250 infringement notices for illegal camping in Noosa Shire.
“Several infringements have been for people illegally camping in the Albert St off-street car park,” development and regulation director Richard MacGillivray said.
Mr MacGillivray said council encouraged the community to report potential illegal camping breaches.
“We rely on our community to be the eyes and ears to help combat illegal camping,” he said.
“We ask any activity is reported via the app Snap, Send Solve,” he said.
“Officers are very proactive in responding to illegal camping complaints and will continue to conduct regular patrols across Noosa,” he said.
