BOATSHED owners in Hobsons Bay say a legal ruling in favour of a boatshed owner in Wyndham is good news for them, but the council disagrees.
Magistrate Frank Jones recently determined that Wyndham City Council could not force Campbells Cove boatshed owner Duncan Colbron to remove or vacate his property for refusing to take out a three-year licence.
It was a decision applauded by boatshed owners at the Kororoit Creek Fishing Village, who are also refusing to sign three-year licences, recently introduced by Hobsons Bay City Council.
But Stephen Thorpe, manager of parks and recreation in Hobsons Bay, said owners should be cautious about drawing conclusions from the Wyndham example.
He said the boatsheds at the Kororoit Creek Fishing Village were mostly on council land, not Crown land, as was the case in Wyndham.
“We have looked at what has been happening in Wyndham but our situation is quite different,” Mr Thorpe said.
“The advice we have received is that what is in place now is a ‘permissive occupancy’ arrangement. It is effectively an annual licence where people are only entitled to have that licence renewed if they meet our requirements as a landlord.”
Allison McAdam, a boatshed owner and president of the newly formed Boatshed Owners Association of Port Phillip Bay and Victoria, said the licensing push in Wyndham and Hobsons Bay was part of a broader trend.
“Councils right across Australia are trying to push out all the little boatsheds and shacks,” she said.
“You can almost see the dollar signs ticking over in their eyes.
“In many places they have succeeded. It is a shame to see this part of local history disappearing.”
Mr Thorpe said the new licences were simply designed to “formalise” land use in the village and to manage environmental risks in a sensitive ecosystem.
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“We are saying to people that to keep their sheds, they need to make them safe, protect the environment and use the building for a suitable purpose, not as a residence or for anything other than boating-related activities.
“That’s what we are making quite clear in these written licenses.”
Ms McAdam said there were “very few points in the licence plan that anyone is happy with”, and indicated that she expected most boatshed owners would continue to oppose the plan.
“I think the council has been waiting on this decision in the hope that they could move in and do something similar,” she said.
“They want people to have to bid for their shacks every year.
“But why would people want to trade down from what they have already got?”
