Dockside marina owner expansion under fire, harassment claims as eviction stoush heats up

A Kangaroo Point marina owner where 11 business face eviction boasted to residents of turning it into a “mini Howard Smith Wharves’’, an irate resident says. A floating restaurant owner meanwhile says he was barraged with baseless complaints.

A stoush at one of Brisbane’s most high-profile marinas which threatens the jobs of 300 people has intensified as the deadline to evict 11 businesses draws closer.

Dockside commercial operators, including GoBoat, JetSki Brisbane, Aquarius Charters and Brisvegas Cruises, have until March 4 to leave the Kangaroo Point marina after the Department of Resources wrote to marina owner Ken Allsop last month to tell him he was breaching his seabed lease.

DoR first pointed out the breach of the lease, which does not allow commercial uses, about 18 months ago.

There has been no shortage of finger pointing with all of the main players — the marina owner, commerical operators, Dockside body corporates, Council, the Government and the Opposition — blaming each other for the sorry situation.

The owner of floating seafood outlet Prawnster said water police had visited every weekend for more than a month after a false complaint his two boats weren’t correctly tied up.

He was also hit with numerous inspections and other complaints.

Eleven commercial boat operators who have been ordered to leave Brisbane’s Dockside marina by March 4.

But a longterm Dockside apartments resident, veteran property and business figure Greg Wilson, said the problem lay squarely with marina head lessee Ken Allsop.

He said Mr Allsop, who also owns the long-vacant Drift restaurant on the riverfront in Milton, had boasted to residents of turning the marina into a “mini Howard Smith Wharves’’.

Mr Wilson said the marina was never intended for commercial users as it did not have proper toilet, rubbish or carparking facilities.

However Mr Allsop denied the claims, saying only one of the five “fingers’’, B finger, would be for commercial uses.

He said there were 38 vacancies out of the 76 berths two years ago, but he had filled most of them, which was helping pay for everyone’s overheads.

“I would probably get a couple more floating restaurants there, but I’m not looking at doing anything more than that,’' he said.

JetSki Brisbane is one of the commercial operators facing eviction.

“There will only be commercial on B finger and a scattering of charter boats mooring occasionally elsewhere.’’

He said an advertisment running on the website of his company, ABS Business Sales, was for commercial tenants at his Drift restaurant site, not at Dockside

But Mr Wilson said Dockside marina was “not Manly harbour’’.

“It’s a little marina with one toilet and shower facilities for people living on their boats,’’ he said.

“Since Ken took over the head lease in 2016 we have gone from five bins, one on each finger for the private boat users, to about 35, 150-litre bins lining the boardwalk.

“We have motorised buggies carting them along the boardwalk to Cairns St to be emptied.’’

Mr Wilson said Prawnster had gone from a small operation on one boat, seating only 18 customers, to two boats and a floating deck with shade sails that could seat 100.

“They refitted the second boat, Princess Prawnster, to put one toilet in the wheelhouse after complaints from (private) boat users that customers were using the toilet facilities meant for them.’’

Dockside marina.

Mr Wilson said liquor licences required toilet facilities to be under cover, within a short walk and accessible, whereas the boat residents’ toilet was 120m away and the wheelhouse had challenging access.

He said while the charter boats were much less of a problem, when they were loading provisions or unloading rubbish there were motorised buggies clogging up the boardwalk.

But Prawnster owner Martin Brennan said his business had been unfairly victimised by a small group of vocal Dockside apartment owners.

“It’s the rock game — you address one issue and another comes up,’' he said.

“We’re just collateral damage in this fight between the marina owner and Dockside.

“The harassment started about the time we moved from one boat to two.

“We’ve been food audited, we’ve had marine safety officers on board and the water police were here every weekend for a couple of months after someone said our boats were not roped up.’’

Sam Brennan (left) and Chris Dougherty from Prawnster.

Mr Allsop said it was ludicrous to suggest he wanted to expand the marina into a mini Howard Smith Wharves.

“I don’t ever recall using those words,’’ he said.

“The area (Dockside marina) is nowhere near the size of Howard Smith Wharves — that’s ten times the size.

“I indicated I wanted to give it some life, some commercial activity, instead of being a morgue.

“Since Prawnster started people have commented on how much more buzzing the area is.’’

Mr Allsop said he was contacted by the state Small Business Commissioner this morning, but so far the Government had offered no way forward.

He had engaged lawyers to argue against the eviction notice.

“Bottom line is (DoR) has finally done the right thing and manned up to their responsibilities,’’ he said.