‘Great Wall of Coolum’ sparks chaos as locals protest and animals crash into it
A 1.8m tall fence is causing chaos in a Queensland town, with homeowners saying they are being woken through the night by wildlife crashing into it.
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A 1.8m tall fence is causing chaos in a Queensland town, with homeowners saying they are being woken through the night by wildlife crashing into it.
One local captured the moment a wallaby attempted to smash through the temporary wire fence – a precursor to what locals are calling “The Great Wall of Coolum” – that stretches along a picturesque laneway in the Sunshine Coast Region beachside town.
The temporary fence runs for about 500m down Grandview Lane in Coolum, and will eventually be replaced with a permanent, solid timber fence for a planned subdivision.
In the video, posted to a community Facebook group, a local woman filmed the wallaby “trying to get out” and to the scrubland on the other side of the fence.
She described the situation as “disgusting”.
“It’s banging its head against (the fence). I heard it all last night, the sound of them (wallabies) banging their heads against the fence,” she said.
The wallaby can be seen bounding down the laneway alongside the fence line, which disappears around the bend and behind a low-hanging branch.
The woman posted the video on March 31, a day after the temporary wire fence had been erected.
Her post echoed the words of a public notice from the Coolum Residents Association (CRA) calling for locals to “SAVE THE LANE” and “STOP / BRING DOWN THE GREAT WALL OF COOLUM”.
“This 1.8m high solid fence has been approved by your Council to be constructed by an interstate property developer immediately along the west edge of Grandview Lane,” the notice reads.
“Walkers, children, emergency services, council bins, locals’ and visitors’ cars, deliveries, wildlife, views and breezes risk being fenced-in forever.
“This fence will create a permanent hazard to the safe use of this public lane and will destroy its natural amenity.”
It is understood locals have raised their concerns with the project developer, Grandview Horizons, and Sunshine Coast Regional Council. news.com.au understands negotiations about the project are underway.
news.com.au has approached the Coolum Residents Association and Sunshine Coast Regional Council for comment.
Grandview Horizons reportedly agreed that the footage was unacceptable an “incredible amount of effort” went into the design of the project.
“No wildlife should be affected through the process,” the firm’s architect Dale Fisher told Yahoo! News.
Mr Fisher said wallabies and kangaroos living at the site would be dispersed, but he did not share the details of the plan. He also told the outlet that describing the impact of fencing on native wildlife was beyond his expertise and reportedly directed questions about how it affected native wildlife to his contractor.
The company did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Yahoo.
It is understood a shade cloth has been draped over the fence and wallabies are understood to have stopped crashing into it since the video was shared.
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