Livingstone Shire Council backflips on Lindsay Street boat ramp decision

A decision to re-open a beach access at the Capricorn Coast to cater for boaties launching and retrieving vessels has been overturned in a stunning twist. Here’s why.

Councillor Adam Belot (left) and Zilzie resident Sid Dooley at the Lindsay Street beach access site at Zilzie where another boat ramp was considered for the Capricorn Coast.

A decision to re-open a beach access point at Zilzie to cater for boaties launching and retrieving vessels has been sensationally overturned.

Livingstone Shire councillors voted unanimously in September to re-open the Lindsay Street beach access for a 12-month trial.

It was hoped the trial would help the council determine whether permanent access for boat launching should be reinstated at the site.

As part of the council’s September decision, it was resolved that council officers would monitor usage of this beach access point for the duration of the trial to see how much it was used by the public.

However, in a huge backflip at Livingstone’s November meeting, councillors overturned their original decision meaning the Lindsay Street beach access will now not be reopened for boat launching and retrieval purposes.

Councillor Adam Belot pushed for councillors to overturn the move.

Since the September decision, councillors had learned the cost for installation of beach access infrastructure would be about $25,000 to $30,000.

“It would have been good to know (when councillors made their original decision) that (cost) was going to be attached to that trial for the 12 months,” he said.

The Lindsay Street beach access site at Zilzie.

“After going to the Keppel Cove community meeting and going back to Lindsay Street and meeting quite a number of people there, it probably reinforced in me the very reason why we’re trying up at Bangalee to establish a management plan that mitigates the impact of vehicles.

“We don’t see vehicles on beaches like Yeppoon main beach here, we don’t see them on Cooee Bay or Lammermoor, we don’t see them on the beach in front of the lifesavers at Emu Park.

“Because I think as a community we recognise that they’re probably not a great thing to mix (vehicles and other beach-users).

“And so as those communities grow, we see vehicle usage (on beaches) decrease and diminish.”

Mr Belot said he now believed after talking with members of the community that it was “not a good fit” to have vehicles on the beach “at all” at the Lindsay Street site.

“Nor would I think it would be good to have (vehicles) on Lammermoor Beach.”

There was lengthy debate at the council table about what to do with this matter, but ultimately councillors got to a point of making a decision and putting it to bed.

Councillor Pat Eastwood.

Cr Pat Eastwood spoke in favour of the motion to overturn the original decision.

“I think this particular motion lays out the, I guess the importance of trying to get some sort of a report before we make a decision, and I do believe that last time we got it wrong,” he said.

“You know, we got it wrong, and since then we’ve had some good community feedback, and also there’s a very serviceable ramp just around the corner, very close actually for the same sort of conditions.

“I just want to also make a statement here though, that this council is all for our boaties and making sure that they do have good access to the open ocean and also to all our waterways.

“I just don’t believe that this (Lindsay Street site) is one of them at the moment.”

On a majority vote, the council’s September decision was overturned.

Zilzie resident Sid Dooley, who has lived in nearby Wilbraham Street for almost 20 years, applauded the council’s decision to backflip.

He said many local residents did not want a boat ramp at the Lindsay Street beach access and believed it was not the right place for such a thing.

Debate about where another all-tide boat ramp could be built at the Capricorn Coast to complement the busy Rosslyn Bay facilities at Yeppoon has divided the community for years, with a number of options previously put forward.

Meanwhile, a further push from Mr Belot at the November meeting for the council to establish a reference group tasked with exploring potential vehicle use on unpopulated beaches, including the southern end of the Capricorn Coast, got the green light.

Originally published as Livingstone Shire Council backflips on Lindsay Street boat ramp decision