Management of Recreational Use Plan 2013-2015 - Townsville City ...

B. Gleeson’s and Aplin’s WeirsThe current arrangements for the managing the use of parks will be applied to the management of theuse of Gleeson’s and Aplin’s Weirs. The process used is a booking system administered by the CommunityServices Department. The applicant m a k e s contact and requests t h e i r use. The request is checked toensure there are no other bookings for the area. If there are no unresolvable issues the request is approvedand a booking agreement is sent to the applicant with t h e conditions of use.Speed LimitThe current gazetted 6 knot speed limit will remain as it is not considered necessary to alter it. Althoughrowing vessels and their support craft may exceed 6 knots, and thus the speed limit in 6 knot zones, the limit isintended to control the speed of the public’s permitted powered vessels that are being used forwaterskiing for safety reasons, and not to restrict use by rowing vessels or their support craft.RowingRowing is an established and encouraged use of these weir pools. The pontoon at the Riverside GardensCommunity Centre is the property of the Townsville & James Cook University Rowing Club. Use for regattaswill be addressed by use of the booking system, where Council is notified of events in advance and the weir isbooked for use by the organisation staging the event. There is no need to define zones in this section of theriver. Townsville City Council has no objections to start / finish and distance buoys and riverbank markers beinginstalled on a permanent basis and maintained by the rowing club in Aplin’s Weir.Other EventsOther community groups that occasionally make use of these weirs will be managed by the booking process.C. Other Uses and UsersUn-Powered WatercraftIt is not anticipated that existing public access to the river for canoeing and other activities using un-poweredvessels will be affected with the exception of the use of the areas of the zones being used during booked events.Adequate communication will be required to ensure the public is aware of activities being staged..Defence Force activitiesWill be managed through use of the booking and public notification processes to ensure any potential issuesare addressed.Commercial UseA Commercial Permit from Council is required to use the river for a commercial purpose. This is the sameprocess that applies to use of Council land for commercial purposes as any operation will require land-basedaccess.The general concept of commercial use is supported with any specific enterprises being permittedconditional on the appropriate permissions and requirements being met including:• Any regulatory obligations i.e. licences and permits;• Suitable access and staging areas being available;• Commercial sustainability of the venture; and• No adverse social, economic or environmental impacts.Future ecotourism or other commercial enterprises will need the approval of Townsville City Council. Such use will besubject to the Commercial Permit process. Potential uses include sightseeing river cruises and guided “safaris” andwatercraft hire e.g. canoes, rowboats and electric powered tinnies.43