Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Well my Local council is now fining me $16,500 for my 30kl grow-out pond / pool

even tho on their website it says fish ponds are excluded from the Building Act 1975 ??


https://www.gympie.qld.gov.au/developme ... ming-pools


anyone else having issues from their councils ?

they are pretty much saying that because it was manufactured as a pool it is classed as a pool under the Building acts

I am also wondering why it still needs a fence when the pool is an above ground over 1.2m high ?
its actually higher than most pool fences ?

I can understand that a pool used for fish is no less a drowning hazard than a pool without fish and therefore would attract the same fencing requirements and any applicable planning requirements. What I don't understand is how you can be fined $16.5K without first being advised of a non-compliance and being given the opportunity to rectify the situation by installing fencing or removing the pool. That just seems unjust to me.

Before I got my IBCs, I'd considered getting a secondhand above-ground pool. Sounds like I may have dodged a bullet 'cos I doubt Moreton Bay Council is much different.

I second this, it seems very harsh getting fined that huge amount with any prior warnings or mandatory actions to get into compliance. If I were you I would argue this as my main focus to get out of that fine.

yeh they have been harsh since they rezoned us from rural to residential back in 2013
our first fine was ~2014 for ~$20k for not having mowed grass on our 2.5a block

they have been having me slowly dismantle the aquaponic system over the years

I did have 36x 6x3m greenhouses
and last year they made me take down the large 20m x 9m greenhouse

remove all shade cloths from the tops of the grow beds
and saying BS like only 50% per m2 and no more than 100m2 can be for gardens etc ...
and saying stuff like the only way I could keep them would be to subdivide into a lot of smaller blocks that could have 100m2 ea on them ...


now focusing on the pool ...

it looks like 2021 they changed some building codes as well


currently paying a building certifyer $1k to get permission for the pool being 1.5m off from the house

ugh and apparently $350 a year for a safety inspection .. I should have just stuck to doing a 20kl rainwater tank again ...

Why are you living somewhere where they have so much control over what you can and can't do on your land? It's time to move

IMHO, it's actions such as this that hinder mankind advancement. They really want not only ALL the control, but all the credit too. Just ask Edison.
Since when did 1% intelligence surpass 99%?

Unless you're ''a good ole boy'', you have to walk through life being as inconspicuous as possible

Been here almost 40 years

spent my life being self sufficient here ,
and been going through all this crap since development happened across the road ~2013


oh well guys , just keep in mind those retrofitted / repurposed pools could bite you in the ass once day


what hurts me most is I had to remove all my shade cloth so everything's getting hammered by the QLD sun

I was living off selling parsley / basil but no way to keep them cool now ,
lettuces on rafts is the only thing I can grow in full sun .. and even that they are complaining about and want fenced off just in case a drunk falls in ... no idea why as the entire 2.5 acreage is fenced ... if they get thru that they are trespassing ...

they consider everything a structure that requires council approval


well draining the pool to 300mm , apparently the only water height we are even allowed for ponds!!!