Want to drive your 4WD vehicle at the beach? An app may be the key to it

A 4WD enthusiast developed the idea locally, and she hoped it would mean more comprehensive management of coastal areas used by drivers, recreational fishers and residents.

The difficulty in monitoring compliance is one of the main reasons given to banning 4WD vehicles in beachers and other locations, but now Ballina Council has supported the idea of an app to help regulate it.

Vehicles going onto beaches in the Ballina Shire may need to buy permits and be managed by an online application while on the coast.

The proposal, originally raised by a club of users of the beaches in South Ballina, received backing from Ballina Council.

The app could grant drivers of 4WD access to the beach via a booking system, collect fees and avoid overcrowding.

Using a Geo-Positioning System (GPS), users could be notified of speed limits and vehicle exclusion zones.

It could also deny users that exhibit poor behaviour.

The idea was originally developed by Ballina resident Emma Field, who is part of the Ballina Shire Southern Beaches Users Club.

The club was created in mid-May, has more than 900 members on Facebook and includes Ballina residents who enjoy 4WD driving and fishing in the area.

Ballina Shire Southern Beaches Users Club's committee member, Emma Field.

Mrs Field said she initially raised the idea with the club’s committee an councillors in early July.

“Essentially, the application would regulate access to 4WD-only accessible areas,” she said.

“It was suggested that this could be done under Service NSW.

“We also included in the request a tool to report injured wildlife to local groups and to report reckless behaviour with images and video.

“This tool could also avoid the need of a ranger or police patrolling the beach full time, as the app could allow to regulate remotely how many people are at the beach.”

Mrs Field said she was at the beach on average once a month with her family, before it was closed on March 31.

“For six months we were involved in a couple of local beach clean-ups, so we were there more often, because we were doing that monthly, but we were not there every weekend,” she said.

Ballina Shire Council agreed at their July 26 meeting to ask the Minister for Water, Property and Housing, Melinda Pavey, for support to assist in the development of the app.

The motion, presented by Councillor Stephen McCarthy, also aims to gather support from local members Ben Franklin and Tamara Smith.