FAQs

Redland City Council supports a range of temporary commercial activities that activate our parks and open spaces to create vibrant places and livable communities. 

A temporary commercial activity occurs where goods or services are offered for sale for a fee such as: 

• Personal training and sports coaching programs. 
• Mobile food and beverage vehicles.
• Hire of recreation equipment (canoes, bikes, scooters).
• Entertainment (open air cinemas, jumping castles, children’s petting zoo).
• Tourist based activities (canoe and kayak tours).

Commercial vendors can apply for a variety of different types of temporary commercial activities that fall under the categories of food and beverage retailing, fitness and recreation, entertainment/other and tourism based activities.  The types of temporary commercial activities that a commercial vendor can apply for are outlined in the table below and depending on the park further restrictions and limitations apply. 

An EOI is designed to ensure fairness and equity is applied to all potential commercial operators.  It allows Council to shortlist the number of potential applicants where the demand from commercial vendors is greater than the limited number of spaces and parks available for temporary commercial activities. 

The EOI process ensures that commercial vendors comply with the definition of ‘temporary commercial activities’, are located within an eligible park, and relevant insurances are in place such as public liability, product liability and professional indemnity insurance (where relevant).  The EOI is designed to ensure that commercial vendors have all documentation in place before applying for a certificate of approval. For more information about the approval process and other relevant assessment criteria please refer to Fact sheet No.2 – Assessment Criteria.

Commercial operators who progress successfully through the EOI process will be sent an email inviting them to apply for a certificate of approval.   A certificate of approval will be valid for up to twelve months and Council will recommence the EOI process every three years. Submission of an EOI and subsequent application for a certificate of approval does not guarantee or authorise an approval to carry out a temporary commercial activity. 

Not all parks are available for temporary commercial use.  Based on their size, shape and physical characteristics a limited number of parks and state reserves are suitable and eligible for temporary commercial activities.  Fact sheet No.1 (Table 1) identifies the parks and state reserves that are eligible for temporary commercial use of public open space. Following Round 1 take-up, Round 1A includes 39 eligible parks and state reserves.

PDF maps of eligible parks are available under the Documents tab on this Your Say page. In some cases, due to constraints such as proximity to residential properties specific areas within a park or open space cannot accommodate temporary commercial activities. However, areas that are suitable and eligible for consideration are highlighted ‘grey’. 

Round 1A simply re-opens the Round 1 EOI process, minus the locations that were secured during Round 1. Round 1A provides commercial operators with another opportunity to seek a temporary commercial permit in an eligible park or state reserve.

Yes.  The category of temporary commercial activities allowed (such as food and beverage retailing, fitness and recreation, entertainment / other and tourism based activities) are limited depending on the park or reserve. For example, large scale entertainment / other activities such as markets and open air cinemas require much larger spaces and are limited to 29 parks and state reserves. Fact sheet No.1 (Table 2) on Council’s Your Say page at https://yoursay.redland.qld.gov.au/ identifies parks that further limit the category of temporary commercial activities. 

In addition, to comply with the requirements of the Land Act, 1994 a Land Management Plan (LMP) has been undertaken for a number of parks that are state reserves where Council is the trustee. The LMP introduces further limitations on the number and types of temporary commercial activities that can occur within state reserves. For example, where large entertainment / other entertainment activities are permitted in larger parks their frequency is limited to the following: 

Entertainment / Other 

• children’s petting zoo (not exceeding a frequency of two / week)
• jumping castles (not exceeding a frequency of two / week)
• markets (not exceeding a frequency of one / month)
• open air cinema (not exceeding a frequency of two / week)
• wedding ceremonies (not exceeding a frequency of two / week)
• small scale entertainment uses e.g. busking, face painting, magicians and entertainers of children’s birthday parties not exceed 30m2

A copy of the LMP can be viewed on Council’s Your Say page at https://yoursay.redland.qld.gov.au/.

Yes. Due to constraints such as proximity to residential properties and established businesses, slope and lack of available space the number of commercial vendors are limited to between one and three commercial vendors at any one point in time. Fact sheet No.1 (Table 1) on Council’s Your Say page at https://yoursay.redland.qld.gov.au/ identifies the maximum number of commercial vendors that can be accommodated for each eligible park. 

Yes.  Depending on the type of temporary commercial activity more than three commercial operators could potentially share the available spots at different times of the day or days of the week.  

Commercial vendors must ensure that they have a certificate of currency for public liability insurance to the value of $20 million, and product liability insurance to the value of $20 million.  Depending on the temporary commercial activity, professional indemnity insurance may also be required e.g. fitness and sports facilitators. A copy of the relevant insurance will be required at the time of lodging an application for a certificate of approval.

Before commencing a temporary commercial activity an applicant must check if other permits, approvals or licenses are required. Other approvals that may be required include: 

• Public open space permit (for event bookings in a park or foreshore)
• Vehicle access permit (where vehicle access to an area is required before or during an event)
• Temporary food business license (if selling food)
• Moreton Bay Marine Park Permit to use or enter Moreton Bay (issued by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science).

If a certificate of approval is granted for a temporary commercial activity, terms and conditions will apply. Terms and conditions will deal with a range of issues such as hours of operation, preventing exclusive use, minimising noise, and protecting plants, vegetation, existing park infrastructure and the health, safety and amenity of park users.

The EOI includes two main parts. Part A – primarily requires a ýes’ or ‘no’ answer. If you answer ‘no’ to any questions in Part A you are ineligible to apply for an EOI or a subsequent application for a certificate of approval. In this circumstance you are ineligible due to one or more of the following reasons: 

• You do not have the required insurance
• You have not selected an eligible park
• Your proposal does not comply with relevant definitions 
• Your proposal does not achieve the required separation distance from residential properties or nearby businesses
• You have not attached relevant insurance certificates or evidence of an ABN number. 

If you have satisfied Part A of the EOI form you will be able to progress to Part B - Assessment Criteria. Part B requires applicants to nominate the category and type of temporary commercial activity, the park they are interested in, including their preferred time and day of the week. 

The remaining questions in Part B require the applicant to provide a written response to demonstrate how their proposal meets a number of criteria including:

• maintaining safety and amenity of park users and nearby residents
• supporting sustainable use of parks through energy efficient appliances and features, sustainable waste and recycling practices etc.
• supporting the health and wellbeing of the community 
• supporting local business and tourist operators
• employing local or First Nations people 
• if food and beverage retailing, complementing nearby businesses (within a 200m-400m radius from the nearest edge of the park) by providing  a different service or product

Each of the six above criteria will be assessed and scored accordingly. EOI’s that obtain the highest scores or demonstrate community benefits are likely to be shortlisted and progress to the next application stage. 

All commercial vendors are required to demonstrate that they are not creating substantial competition with similar businesses activities operating from a fixed commercial premises in the local area. For example, if your proposal involves food and beverage retailing it is important that you show how your product or service is different to that provided by shops or commercial premises within 200-400m radius of an eligible park. For all other temporary commercial activities, commercial vendors should demonstrate that they are not creating substantial competition for existing businesses within 400m of an eligible park.  

Applicants are encouraged to research shops, food and drink outlets and other businesses in the local area and identify those local businesses that offer the same or similar products to your proposal. For example, applicants are encouraged to visit the local shops or cafes to obtain a copy of their menu to demonstrate their food or beverage menu is different to that of established businesses. 

Provide a map using Council’s Read-e-map portal available at https://www.redland.qld.gov.au or google maps showing that nearby shops or food and drink outlets are:

• more than 400m from the nearest edge of the park, or 
• that your business offers a different product or service from shops or food and drink outlets located within 200m-400m from the nearest edge of the park you are interested in.  

Example

In the example below, a café is located within 200-400m radius of Bailey Road Park. An EOI proposing a coffee van or cart at Bailey Road Park would score poorly against the EOI assessment criteria and may not be short-listed. A food van selling fish and chips, an item not offered for sale by the café or shops located within 200-400m of the park, would be preferred and may be short-listed. 

Example of map to submit with your EOI.