Luis Feliu
Tweed Shire Council is set to take legal action against a Stokers Siding landowner who built a massive, unauthorised motocross track on his rural property which prompted complaints from neighbours.
Extensive earthmoving was needed to build the dirt track at No. 137 Adcocks Road, Stokers Siding (pictured right) which council now wants restored to its natural state.
Council officers inspected the property in April following several complaints and were told by the landowner’s son that he had built the track for his own use and that he’d been advised by ‘a friend in the earthmoving industry’ that he didn’t require council approval because he wasn’t importing soil to the site.
The landowner, staff say, also did not have approval for a change of use of the property for recreational activities and a letter was sent to him about the unlawful earthworks and land use.
The landowner’s son wrote back telling council ‘As you are aware the subject land is zoned RU2 Rural landscape
zone. The land is used for agricultural purposes being cattle rearing, dwelling house, infrastructure and internal access roads. I have still not had time to seek legal advice but this should answer your questions.’
Staff were not satisfied with the response and wrote back to tell him to reinstate the site to its original form prior to the earthworks, asking him to confirm in writing that he would do so and to set out a time frame for the rehabilitation works.
The request was ignored, so staff called the owner’s son on 11 September, only to be told ‘that he had no intention of lodging an application for the unlawful earthworks works and land use or to reinstate the site to its natural form’.
Staff say ongoing calls have been received from neighbouring residents in the area over concerns related to the works undertaken to date, the potential expansion in the scale and size of the activity, and the owner’s non compliance with council’s requirements.
An inspection of the site on 10 November revealed the site has not been reinstated to its natural form, so staff have now recommended legal action be taken against the landowner to enforce compliance.
Councillors will debate the issue at their meeting on Thursday this week.
Councils have too much power. It is their land which they legally acquired. Leave them alone and go and fix all the pot holes roads. Fair dinkum !!
Too right cobber!
Council has no power, the fact that this has happened demonstrates that council has a lack of authority. People like this should be prosecuted for the mess they have created
We can have DOOFS, Drumming,Fire Twirling and people Stoned off their brain but we can’t have
kids having fun on motobikes CAN WE. I’d take a kid on a motorbike having fun and really enjoying the thrill and
fun of it all, than driving around stoned or at parties on MDMA and other illicet drugs.
Where are all these fire twirling DOOFS you’re on about? I’m not sure what people getting stoned has to do with the case of illegal earthworks? Please elaborate Frank.
Motorbikes are the tool of the devil and are a gateway machine…before you know it they’ll be driving cars!
Sam.use your brain mate Tweed shire is full of pot and drugs if you take away sport activities like dirt bikes more and more kids will end up on drugs. You saying motor bikes r a devils machine .sounds like you have no idea on life. So alls you will get is more people riding in the National parks were all the POT is grown. And did you move to this shire from Sydney???
I can’t believe that something that gets children and the youth off the streets and doing some sport or amusement has upset so manny people.wasting the shires resources we should count the time effort money put into this from them and then complain about that to our mayor .
I would hate to have something like this pop-up beside my house too… This is a democratic society and the residents in that area have a right to complain about activities that disturb the peace and quiet and general amenity and the ability to enjoy their property without being bombarded by annoying noises of infernal combustion engines all weekend long.
If there is a large enough contingent of motor-cross lovers, use democratic processes to get what you want, don’t resort to illegal activities.
Would you complain if it was horses in that property or cattle or even gray hounds would you be bitching if it was James Packer living there with helicopters landing for parties every Saturday followed by Mariah Singing all I want at 2am. I would doubt that track is used for more than a couple of hours oer day and doubt it would be every day. If they had horses or other live stock you would have that noise every day and night. If I was the owner of this land I would be buying lots of live stock and put them all next to the wingers property and buying a massive karaoke set up and they would be hearing my verson of I did it my way every night.
I wonder in situations like this if it is just the noise that is the issue or whether the complainants have some unreasonable negativity towards those that choose motorcycles as a healthy pastime, leisure pursuit or sporting choice.
If noise is the only problem then the owner of the property could consider purchasing an electric bike. Electric bikes are becoming a viable alternative for those that enjoy motocross as a valid and healthy pastime, leisure pursuit or sporting choice.
If noise is not the issue and the complainants have some other reason for not liking a motocross track near where they live then I think their complaints could quite possibly be unfair and the council’s response unreasonable.
The issue i think is the illegal earthworks and the breach of the planning process, an obvious fact i think you have conveniently overlooked.
If you want to do stuff like this there is a clear process, everyone has to abide by it, motorcross enthusiasts included.
Council’s response is perfectly reasonable and within the law.
What is unreasonable is the notion that it is my land and i can do what i want, this is why there are law, regulations and development control plans. It is an unsuitable development in the wrong area….Get out of state forests, get out of rural residential areas, get a life!
This is australia in the 21st century…there’ll be no fun here please or anywhere else..move along now and hug a tree please…
How does someone get enjoyment from driving around in circles in a dusty pit? I’ll take the tree thanks…
Sam your on the right track, plant some trees and you will have a beautiful outlook and also a natural sound barrier. personally I love the tweeds unique fauna but I also loved riding trail bikes .Your on a rural property getting on with your neighbours will only make life easier .
I KNOW for a fact that bikes have not yet been around this track besides when it was being built, to make sure it was safe. its sad that you cant do anything on your own land these days, i live close by and dont have a problem at all we were all once kids and just wanted to have some fun
You are allowed to do a lot on the land, check out the planning laws sometime, Dylan. The fact is that this was done without seeking council approval. If approval had been sought in the first case then this entire issue may have been avoided.
But you have to be considerate of the neighbours, and having a development like this in rural residential area is a disrespectful thing to do.
You may not have a problem but seems like there are a lot of others who do… seems like there is noisy minority trying to run roughshod over the silent majority who just want a bit of peace and quiet
We have kids over dosing, glassing, fights, murders, stabbings, etc.
Fact is non of these guys do nothing of the above. They have rallied council for a DA approved park for 10 years and have been given nothing. A group of boys got all there friends together that all have full time jobs and spent every weekend building a track to ride safe and have fun. But wait to all the drop kicks that have stopped this, going ahead, have just created my illegal riding to take place in our state forests.
That’s a rather conflated argument Peter…might want to provide some statistics for that wild claim. do you mean to imply that kids will only stop stabbing and murdering each other while high on drugs and booze when they have a healthy alternative such as a motorcorss track?
I reckon such a claim says a lot more about the type of people who use motorcross as some sort of escapism from their inner violent nature which emerges when they drink.
The issue here is illegal earthworks, unapproved development and breaching of planning regulations, social issues like you describe have nothing to do with this… unless you’re the ones who need this activity to stay off drugs?
There are other alternatives to riding in state forests as well…try walking. You might develop an appreciation for nature
This is an absolute joke. Don’t these people have anything better to do then complain about stuff like this?
Go complainants! And power to them! Illegal activities like this need to be punished, thank god council is doing something about this one.
You can’t do this in a rural residential area its just plain rude and show no respect to the neighbours.
Just because you own block of land does not mean you can do anything to it that you like, this is why there are planning laws. People who flout the laws should be punished. Too bad council has no power… Maybe the council will win this one and finally send a message to renegade rednecks who think they can abuse the land.
I don’t understand the shrill comments about drugs and alcoholism being brought into the debate, is this some sort of emotional blackmail? Give me my track or I’ll take some drugs or trash a state forest?
People who do stuff like this have no consideration for the well-being or amenity of others, and this just epitomises that fact. A bunch of spoiled little boys getting dizzy driving in circles and getting high on petrol fumes…
Hey Echo net dudes why aren’t you publishing my response?
Is it because I went off and replied to every previous comment? is there a limit to the number of comments? is there a deadline?
Also why was i not able to post on the Huonbrook Glyphosate debate??
I feel a bit ripped off being unable to retort to a personal attack on my character. Other than the “spoiled boys” line i thought i was keeping things reasonable and not attacking the people involved, but kept it to the point.
If i am unable to reply to attacks that mention me by name i request that the comments that mention me please be removed
What Sam doesnt seem to think of is weather there is a track there. Hidden so not an eye sore…
Its acerage…..
what do people do on acerage. Ride there bikes. Paddi bash cars ect…. now to a neighbour that cant even see the track itself what is the difference…. ???
When people live out on large acerage blocks, it can be expected that your neighbour may be loud. Thats why they choose to live on a large block away from people. Afterall riding a bike on private property is not illegal….
“When people live out on large acerage blocks, it can be expected that your neighbour may be loud. Thats why they choose to live on a large block away from people.”
No Jess, that’s not entirely correct. Like most of my neighbours, I came out to my rural block because I couldn’t stand the rat race activities happening around me nearer the city, (dirt bikes included) . All I wanted was peace and quite! I couldn’t give a fig what my neighbours get up to wherever – I am – but if they engage in noisy activities which transcends their property boundaries, and which in turn adversely affects me or others, then surely there should be laws in place to stop them from continuing to do so?
Its a private track. For mates….used every so offtern as a boys day out…. looks like sam didnt get his invite….n is having a cry. Cos no one else cares
Thank god we don’t live near Sam . There is something inside that wants to make him go on and on ! Sure we get the illegal earthworks , we had a ‘Sam’ living near our track which had been there for over 30 years . In the end he made more noise than us (whinging) . Our track is shut down . Sam (and people like him ) obviously don’t get it . The love , enjoyment , devotion to a motor sport that gets inside you ! The kind that makes you want to ride every day , to try achieve skill levels that will possibly propell you to higher levels in the sport ! Yes this sport can be an addiction ! Sam , you say ‘try walking ‘ , well why don’t you throw your leg over a dirt bike ! Yes I know it’s about the ‘illegal earthworks’
With no fill added .surely legaly if used by land owner should only be a noise issue. So let the council test that outside the property and use our resources on things needed for more important issues. Four stroke trail bikes are not noisy and on private property legal concerns over injury are kept “in house” so why is the council driving riders into illegal riding places (often crown land) with messy legal issues often resulting when injury occurs .
If it’s private property and they are not making financial gain from it then I don’t see what the problem is. Get a life and stop spoiling other people’s lives
Properties all over Australia and also many other countries have dirt bike tracks built for purpose, what the hell is wrong with councils today, we pay them not them own us.
” Motorbikes are the tool of the devil and are a gateway machine…” therein is Sam’s hidden agenda
gateway machine ??? WTF ???
Sam you are a tool
Ask Council what is the “original form” it has to be restored to?
Going back in time it was probably used for the following:
Turned land for crops?
Grazing land for cattle?
Planted Softwood Forest?
Planted hardwood forest?
Natural forest?
Green councils like Tweed and Byron are run by a tiny group of fanatical environmental religious zealots! In Byron you are not allowed to ride a motorbike on your property at all!
Only when ignorant people stop voting for them will we do away with this BS!
This is so sad. As a lover of motorbikes- have grown up riding them and racing them since I was 8 – it is so hard these days for kids/adults to ride in a safe environment and resort to illegal forestry riding which causes issues like head ons with other riders, startling horses and tearing up the land. I fail to see how this track on their own land is a problem. I know the noise can be an issue but if the people riding there only do it once in a while ie every Sunday for a few hours, then surely the neighbours can suck it up for a while. We live on acreage and across the road from forestry…the number of riders we have go through there daily is incredible because there is nowhere for them to ride. I hope the landowners beat the council and they can continue to ride in a safe and private environment. At least they are off the streets and not causing havoc.
It Appears SAM is the most vociferous person in the comments section One would think that perhaps somebody with such strong arguments against had a vested interest in the practice track being removed.
I know the owner & he works away & is lucky to use the track once a month. Practice sessions last sometimes minutes. The bikes are 4 strokes, not 2 strokes. The earth works that have been done are minimal & would be less than creating one dam, which does nto require council approval.
SAM is the pin up boy for NIMBI’ism, greenism & NO’ism.
The majority DON’t think like you SAM.
Attn Sam
Reading your comments i see you are against motocross. What do you do as a past time?
unless they can tax you on the motocross track being there and build they will not allow it, plain and simple. Neighbours are gonna hear alot of banging and tractor work 24/7 now into the night.
Are you bloody kidding me….
This has to be a joke. 21st century and we can’t ride our bike or head out the back for a 4×4 session. Wow.
What has happened Australia? Why are we becoming so conflicted and torn apart with this beaurocratic crap.
Let the kids play and have fun. If it goes down I’ll be sure to help build another if I can. This is purely pathetic.
Shame on the neighbours. Shame.
Seriously …. Surely an amicable agreement could be reached where as the track can be used in certain “non intrusive” hours and the neighbors can have a win.
These kids are not doing drugs, King hitting anyone and nor are they terrorizing or stealing the local community.
Land rate’s ?? Are paid equally by all and should give each land owner the right to enjoy there land however they see fit.
So am I write in assuming if you wish to landscape your land for a garden a pond or maybe to make a rockery you have to get a permit for earthworks? Can i also just say that these young lad probably only rides for an hour at time and the noise his bike makes would no less annoying than a chain saw, whipper snipper or lawn mower. This council has been systematically trying to get rid of motorcycles sonce the 90’s. They forced the closure of reedy creek motocross track, and are trying to do thw same to Stanmore and Mike Hatcher circuits. People don’t have a lot of alternatives unless people would prefer them to ride illegally in national parks or on the streets.
This is just crazy.
I’d bet that even if they went the right way about it from the start The old fudy councilers would not allow it anyway.
They won’t help to allow anyone to set up a licenced safe venue as well, and wonder why people ride in the forests and on streets.
There will still be the people that will ride in the forests and streets but a specialised venue would at least halve it you would think.
Closest venues to ride safely from tweed area would be at least 1.5 hours north to Yatala
And about 2 hours south to Maclean
Sam you are a dead set wanker and nothing but a keyboard hero. Here’s a tip for you go out be nice to people make friends have fun and you will stop hating.
Hi Sam
You are very passionate about being anti the motor cross track. Just to qualify your self and all of your comments, it would be highly advantages to let all the readers know a few things about yourself. I.e. Your age. Do you have children of your own. Do you live next to this property. Do you own property of your own or do you rent. Do you have any affiliation with either the council, local or state government, or any law firm. Do you participate in any sports on a regular basis and if so which sports. What are your hobbies. Also explaining how this particular property affects you personally would be appreciated, if you can’t do that, to back up your comments. Then all of your comments can be disregarded and we can assume you are just an internet troll.
I am aware of the push by a large number of people who have lobbied the tweed council for years for a public motor cross track and have even offered to provide the land and pay for the construction of the track in an area that provides no noise pollution to surrounding neighbors. To this date it has been unsuccessful. This is a healthy, positive, family oriented sport that under certain conditions of reasonable noise levels should be completely allowed.
To the owner of the property. Research what Ronnie Maddison did to his property in Temecula to get around this silly council issue.
That was supposed to be robbie Maddison.
This is a joke you own the land do what you want.
Start A petition and ask for donations from the public to fight this Council
What an absolute joke. Its there land and its not as if there doing anything wrong like riding in illegal areas. Seriously what do you expect, you close down all the local tracks so kids don’t have ANYWHERE safe and legal to ride there bikes within an 100+km radius of the local area. Wake up to yourselves and come up with an actual solution instead of closing everyone down, its only making the problem worse and maybe invest into a solution like a local track where people can actually ride without being hassled. This honestly makes me so f***ing mad.
I am not a neighborhood resident of this property. However have a few mates that have acerage and they all have ride tracks on them. A few are used to teach their kids how to drive and ride safely but all are used for recreation. I Have found that Consultation with the neighbour’s will usually fix these issues including agreeing to reasonable times for these activities to occur. In most cases the council won’t need to become involved. Either way home tracks reduce the amount of dirt sqirters behind houses and down or streets. Thanks.
Some people always have to have something to sook about. Dirt bikes are such an easy target. All somebody has to do is say they heard one off in a distance and BOOM.
Who cares he built a track with out council approval, where are all the motocross tracks that council has built for us there is only one that I known of and its far away for most people.
Ever seen the damage mother nature does to the land, raging rivers and cyclones do a lot more damage to the land then a small mx track ever will!
Motorbikes keeps you young!!!
Has anyone heard of the out come, he owns the land built a small practice track and they want to shut him down. Shame shame shame!
Council wasting tax payer money again and again!
Coumcil should leagalise riding in state forest like Victoria does just have to get rec rego.
Crazy greenies are getting out of hand there ideology is to stop anyone from having fun.
Greenies are a toxic problem just a minority in society and yet councils seem to listen to these twits over the majority.