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Owners of a Lanyon property have been ordered to suspend their off-road buggy hire-and-drive business on the property after the activity was again found to be in contravention of the territory’s Crown lease. In its review of a decision from June 11, the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT) again found the activities of Aussie Buggy Adventures at south Lanyon could not continue unless permitted through a variation to its Crown lease. The June 11 prohibition notice had been preceded by two warning letters, in January and in April. On July 28, Aussie Buggy Adventures posted to social media its business appeared to be booked out. “You might think that’s fantastic that the business is going so well, but unfortunately it’s not that good. It’s not due to Covid or bushfires either,” the post said. “We are closed at the moment because the ACT government has fined us for running 4 wheel motor bikes on our farm.” A day later, the company clarified its position further by stating “we aren’t bagging the government or ACT government employees that have forced us to close, in fact, we feel sorry for them trying to enforce a position that is obviously full of grey areas and contradictions”. “What we can say is that we have been caught on a technicality …” Brendan Read, one of the principals of the adventure company operating on the sprawling 3300-acre south Canberra property, told the hearing that his understanding was that the buggy tours could be considered farm tourism and therefore an “ancillary” use under the terms of the lease. He said farming would always be the primary activity on the farm. Mr Read submitted to the tribunal that when the control letters had been issued, the tours were operational in order to honour bookings already received. In videos posted online, the business had eight buggies running around purpose-built tracks tracks on the property. However, the tribunal maintained the agricultural definition of the lease meant “broad acre animal farming, crop and pasture production, and horticulture for commercial wholesale production”. The tribunal’s view was the “activity of buggy hire and drive as described by the applicant cannot fit within the meaning of agriculture or horticulture”. It further stated “the buggies were being driven on off-road tracks at the premises at speeds noted to be up to 60 kilometres per hour, a use that would more appropriately be categorised as a recreational activity rather than one that meets the purpose of agriculture or is ancillary to that purpose”. The buggy review was followed by another territory lease purpose ruling at the tribunal last week. A high-end Kingston serviced-apartment complex could also be banned from accepting guests after the tribunal found it was operating in breach of its lease conditions. It ruled Knightsbridge Canberra was a commercial accommodation operation, a use which was not permitted under the Crown lease for its Leichhardt Street site. The tribunal ordered owners be issued with a “controlled activity order”, and to stop operating as a de facto hotel.
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Owners of a Lanyon property have been ordered to suspend their off-road buggy hire-and-drive business on the property after the activity was again found to be in contravention of the territory’s Crown lease.
In its review of a decision from June 11, the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT) again found the activities of Aussie Buggy Adventures at south Lanyon could not continue unless permitted through a variation to its Crown lease.
The June 11 prohibition notice had been preceded by two warning letters, in January and in April.
On July 28, Aussie Buggy Adventures posted to social media its business appeared to be booked out.
“You might think that’s fantastic that the business is going so well, but unfortunately it’s not that good. It’s not due to Covid or bushfires either,” the post said.
“We are closed at the moment because the ACT government has fined us for running 4 wheel motor bikes on our farm.”
A day later, the company clarified its position further by stating “we aren’t bagging the government or ACT government employees that have forced us to close, in fact, we feel sorry for them trying to enforce a position that is obviously full of grey areas and contradictions”.
“What we can say is that we have been caught on a technicality …”
What we can say is that we have been caught on a technicality …
Social media post by Aussie Buggy Adventures
Brendan Read, one of the principals of the adventure company operating on the sprawling 3300-acre south Canberra property, told the hearing that his understanding was that the buggy tours could be considered farm tourism and therefore an “ancillary” use under the terms of the lease.
He said farming would always be the primary activity on the farm.
Mr Read submitted to the tribunal that when the control letters had been issued, the tours were operational in order to honour bookings already received.
In videos posted online, the business had eight buggies running around purpose-built tracks tracks on the property.
However, the tribunal maintained the agricultural definition of the lease meant “broad acre animal farming, crop and pasture production, and horticulture for commercial wholesale production”.
The tribunal’s view was the “activity of buggy hire and drive as described by the applicant cannot fit within the meaning of agriculture or horticulture”.
It further stated “the buggies were being driven on off-road tracks at the premises at speeds noted to be up to 60 kilometres per hour, a use that would more appropriately be categorised as a recreational activity rather than one that meets the purpose of agriculture or is ancillary to that purpose”.
The buggy review was followed by another territory lease purpose ruling at the tribunal last week.
A high-end Kingston serviced-apartment complex could also be banned from accepting guests after the tribunal found it was operating in breach of its lease conditions.
It ruled Knightsbridge Canberra was a commercial accommodation operation, a use which was not permitted under the Crown lease for its Leichhardt Street site. The tribunal ordered owners be issued with a “controlled activity order”, and to stop operating as a de facto hotel.
