Killjoy council slaps a family with a $650 fine – just for having a basketball hoop on the kerb outside their home
- Trent Robinson received the fine after an anonymous complaint to the council
- Mr Robinson said the Sunshine Coast Council claimed the hoop was a hazard
- He said the basketball hoop was enjoyed by all the children in his street
A council has fined a family $650 for placing a basketball hoop on the kerb outside their home.
Trent Robinson received the fine from the Sunshine Coast Council in Queensland stating the basketball hoop was a tripping hazard and needed to be removed.
Mr Robinson said he purchased the hoop for all the children in his Brightwater neighbourhood to enjoy and he now has ‘no idea what the kids will do’.
Brightwater resident Trent Robinson received the $650 fine from the Sunshine Coast Council in Queensland stating the basketball hoop (pictured) was a tripping hazard and needed to be removed
The council originally sent a card to Mr Robinson asking him to move the basketball hoop and he complied with the request.
‘The base was about an inch over the footpath, so I thought that would be fair enough. I made sure I moved it a good couple of inches back on the grass so it wasn’t a tripping hazard,’ Mr Robinson told Sunshine Coast Daily.
After he moved the hoop back, Mr Robinson claims he did not hear back from the council until he received a text message stating the allocated time for him to move the hoop had passed.
Mr Robinson received a notice a short time later stating he was fined $650 for not moving his basketball hoop.
‘I just couldn’t believe it was $650. I was thinking maybe $150, $120, but $650, I just thought it was so excessive for kids playing out on the street,’ Mr Robinson said.
The Sunshine Coast Council investigated the basketball hoop (pictured) after they received a complaint and found it was not secure and faced the road
Mr Robinson was confused about why someone would complain to the council about the basketball hoop because everyone on the street enjoys it.
‘All the kids come out and play and the parents even come out and play and have a beer and shoot some hoops. That’s what we bought it for. It’s not just ours, the whole street uses it.’
‘Just so annoying it’s been there for a while the whole street uses it. Obviously the council and the person complaining hates seeing us have fun,’ Mr Robinson said on Facebook.
Mr Robinson said he purchased the basketball hoop for all the children in the neighbourhood to enjoy and he has ‘no idea what the kids will do’
A representative from the council told Sunshine Coast Daily they had received a complaint from a resident stating the basketball hoop was not safe.
The council investigated the claim and found the basketball hoop was not secure and faced the road.
They claim to have sent Mr Robinson a notice to remove the basketball hoop and gave him 14 days to comply.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Sunshine Coast Council for comment.