Fed-up firms call on ombudsman
A GROUP of southern business owners has called on the Queensland ombudsman to sort out a car parking mess caused by dated council development documents.
Exasperated by vague planning specifications, nine business owners at the Currumbin Waters industrial complex say they no longer have exclusive parking for customers and staff and clients just “keep driving”.
The three-building Currumbin Waters complex, located on the corner of Currumbin Creek Rd and Nuban St, is home to nearly 20 businesses which share 118 parking spaces.
As part of the original Gold Coast City Council development application (DA) in 2005, each business was given access to one to four spaces on the shared land during work hours, depending on the size of their business. Since then, the land has been split, leaving the parking spaces to sit between each of the three buildings.
In 2009, Paul and Deb Asselman, owners of Dog Master Trainers, were sold a small premises believed to include four parking spaces, as per the original DA.
But last year the council determined the parking spaces did not mean exclusive use.
The businesses lost their reservation of the parks and Hype Health Club was given exclusive access to 60 car parking spaces.
“When you don’t have any parking spots available, people tend to keep driving,” Mr Asselman said. “Council easements were in place, giving us a right to park when we purchased the business, but now council is not willing to enforce what is on their own DA.”
Plumber Roger Ross, who has led the charge on the issue, has worked at the area for more than two years and blames a lack of planning foresight and poor guidelines.
Mr Ross and other angry tenants first wrote to the council about a year ago and are so frustrated by the lack of resolution they have taken the issue to the ombudsman.
“We have had to go to the ombudsman because we have been back with council with half-cocked excuses,” he said.
“There were car parks under the original plan but what now? What do we have a right to?”
A council spokesman said the city had worked with the owner of the gym to ensure they were compliant with the development approval.
“The city’s investigation has determined that the gym and usage of the car parking is fully compliant with the council approval issued,” he said.
Hype Health Club owner Casper Turner said the dispute had cost his business.
“We have been asked to put together a show cause notice,” he said. “We rectified that.
“We are obligated to have 60 parks so we are copping the brunt of it when it is a council decision.”
He said he hoped for a better resolution.
“It has been a nine-month ordeal and cost me a lot of money with town planners.”