Minyama rooftop tennis court: Wayne Geoffrey Dwyer found in contempt of enforcement order

A retired Sunshine Coast owner-builder has learnt his fate in court after he failed to demolish a luxurious rooftop tennis court which had been denied by council.

A Sunshine Coast property owner who failed to demolish his rooftop tennis court which was denied by council has been ordered to pay thousands of dollars in fines and court costs.

Wayne Geoffrey Dwyer, 59, had been found in contempt of an enforcement order by Judge Glen Cash after he had failed to remove his Minyama home’s tennis court fencing, lighting fixtures, a lift, and an enclosed structure.

Judge Cash fined the Minyama man $5000 and told him to pay legal costs of the proceedings after Sunshine Coast Regional Council said the Minyama property owner “did not have permission” to build his tennis court.

The retired owner-builder was ordered to remove the structure by February 10, 2021 however “almost a year” after the enforcement order and 10 months after the date of compliance most of the roof structures remained, according to Judge Cash.

The tennis court development at Wayne Geoffrey Dwyer’s Minyama home.

Court documents say Mr Dwyer “did practically nothing” to comply with the order several months after the date for compliance.

Mr Dwyer and his wife Vicki Dwyer who own the property applied to the court in 2021 to vary the enforcement order and said they had satisfied part of it and wanted more time to comply.

Judge Cash said in court documents Mr Dwyer had “no lawful excuse” for his non-compliance, however agreed the retired owner-builder did not set out to deliberately frustrate or delay compliance.

The court was told Mr Dwyer belatedly took steps to seek development approval of some of the roof structures despite his earlier application being rejected.

In an affidavit tendered to the court after Judge Cash’s findings in October last year, Mr Dwyer said he had removed part of the perimeter fence between October and December 2021.

Wayne Geoffrey Dwyer was found to be in contempt by the Environment and Planning Court regarding a rooftop tennis court.

Court documents state the retired owner-builder said the lift could not be removed until March 2022 with the rest of the structure to be taken away two weeks after this.

Mr Dwyer’s lawyers argued he had already spent money on legal costs and the removal of the rooftop development and there was no “sufficient basis” for the court to infer he was in a “very comfortable financial position”.

Judge Cash came to the conclusion that Mr Dwyer was a “wealthy man” who had been a successful builder for many years, had lived in a large home in an expensive part of the Sunshine Coast, and had spent tens of thousands of dollars connected to the proceedings.

In his judgement Judge Cash accepted however the fine would not be the only punishment he has suffered due to the ongoing legal matter.

A variation to the order was then made for Mr Dwyer to remove the balance of the roof structures by the end of March 2022.

Mr Dwyer has been contacted for comment.