Encroachment Policy

Mackay Regional Council recently adopted a new policy regarding Encroachment on Public Land. The policy was adopted in September last year and provides a consistent framework for managing or removing unauthorised encroachments on council public land. The policy can be viewed and downloaded on council’s website at www.mackay.qld.gov.au/encroachmentpolicy.

Some encroachments occur in a slow, progressive fashion and usually from the well-intentioned activities of residents. Seemingly harmless activities such as lawn mowing, fire-break maintenance and informal gardening or activities such as placement of structures. As such, the policy addresses encroachments in category levels from minor, moderate and major.

Council is aware of several locations around the region that have encroachments upon them currently and due to the amount of these, will be systematically working through them and assessing each individual property.

Council’s property services team will be working with individual property owners affected by this policy.

The area reserved for park and recreation along Ocean Avenue will be one of the immediate areas to be assessed. In order to start this process, surveyors will be onsite to survey the boundary of the area reserved for park and recreation along Ocean Avenue in February.

This will be the starting point to assess what properties may have an encroachment, the level of the encroachment and what the next steps will be in the process.

The survey team will be accessing the area from the foreshore to complete this work and are not expected to enter any private property in order to complete the survey.

The surveyors will be on site from Monday, February 6, and expect to take approximately two weeks to complete and identify the area reserved for park and recreation along Ocean Avenue (highlighted in the photo section on this page). The surveyors will be onsite between the hours of 7am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

The area reserved for park and recreation will be pegged out and photographed. Some areas will have bollards placed over the pegs, to ensure safety for the public utilising the foreshore.

We ask that you not approach the survey team with any questions about the policy as they will not be able to assist with responses, they will be onsite to survey out the reserve area only.

Should you have any questions about the policy or survey works please contact Jane Gosper, Supervisor Land Operations on 1300 MACKAY (622 529).