New rules revealed for Agnes beach surf schools

AGNES Water surf schools will need to comply with a new wave of rules set in place in a bid to increase safety for beachgoers.

BEACH SAFETY: Surf school operators at Agnes Water Main Beach will need to abide by new rules. Picture: Paul Braven GLA301215AGNES

AGNES Water surf schools will need to comply with a new wave of rules set in place in a bid to increase safety for beachgoers.

The Gladstone Regional Council this week voted in favour of the new policy, which provides a student-to-instructor guideline and new measures on where surf schools can operate.

The conditions are part of the council's Commercial Activities on Council Land policy amendment, made in response to feedback from residents and business owners.

It means surf schools can have a maximum of eight students per instructor and would need to hold their classes at a certain distance from the flagged swimming area.

It also puts a cap on no more than three surf school businesses on Agnes Water Main Beach.

Gladstone Region acting mayor Councillor Chris Trevor said feedback from a survey conducted in July showed the need to change the conditions that commercial beach activities operate under.

"We recognise the great work our surf schools do for tourism, but our beaches are for everyone to enjoy, and we want to ensure they are safe for all beachgoers, which has ultimately led to us placing some conditions on commercial activities," he said.

"We asked our community what activities they would like to see and are supportive of in our region, and it was clear that our community were supportive of the changes."

There are three surf schools at Agnes Water, Lazy Lizard Surf School 1770, Reef 2 Beach and Gnarly Tours.

Lazy Lizard Surf 1770 manager Jake Flesser said the business already operated under the same guidelines put in place by Surfing Queensland.

"We conduct surf schools at main beach, north of the lifeguards, and we pick a spot that's out of the way," he said.

The council's new policy also outlines rules for mobile or stationary businesses, such as coffee and food vans.

The adopted policy includes considerations such as proximity to other businesses, ensuring menu items provide variety rather than competing with existing businesses and the length of stay in any one location, to limit impacts on businesses.