Council threatens canal legal action

Gosford Council will take legal action against four property owners who have boating facilities in St Huberts Island canals if they do not have development consent by Friday, April 1.

Council staff told last week's council meeting that the four owners have provided written or verbal undertakings of their intentions to submit development applications for their facilities.

According to the report 35 of the 46 pontoons in the canals have development consent and are licensed by Council and seven are the subject of current deferred development consents.

Since a council meeting on December 7, only one pontoon owner has gained development consent.

The report by council staff stated that they would continue to liaise with affected property owners as well as the St Huberts Island Residents Association.

St Huberts Island resident's Association president Mr Ron Spratt said he supported regulation of the canals and would like to see a licencing fee for the facilities introduced which would go into Council's maintenance fund for St Huberts Island.

"My Utopian situation is that all boating facilities within the canals be in receipt of an approved development application and be licensed annually and pay annual licence fees."

Mr Spratt said that the council was responsible for canal maintenance.

"They have not conducted any maintenance in those canals since the development of the Island in the 1970s.

"There are numerous seawalls collapsing in the canals through lack of maintenance.

"I would like to see all boating facilities be it pontoons, walkways or moorings paying to Council an annual license fee for the use of the Council's land to pay for maintenance of the canals of the St Huberts Island which are the allotments of land under the ownership of Council," said Mr Spratt.

Mr Spratt said he has been working on the issue of illegal boating facilities since 1995.

"It took Council until 2007 to get a control plan that was actually workable,' he said.

He said he had not heard from council recently.

"The last information I got from them was a letter dated December 14," he said.

Council Agenda ENV. 8, 1 Feb 2011 Interviewee: Ron Spratt