Ediblescapes has received notice that its Deed of Licence at Country Paradise Parklands will not be renewed, placing the future of this community edible forest garden at immediate risk.
This page provides the correspondence received from the City, Ediblescapes’ responses, current developments and a petition asking the elected Council to review the decision and hold the notice to vacate in abeyance while that review occurs.
On 13 August 2026, the City of Gold Coast issued Ediblescapes Inc. with a Notice of Non-Renewal of its Deed of Licence and directed the organisation to vacate the garden site by 14 September 2026.
Ediblescapes has asked for the administrative decision to be reviewed and for the Notice to be held in abeyance while that review takes place. The City has advised that it does not presently intend to place the Notice on hold, and the requirement to vacate remains in effect.
A community petition seeking Council review was received by the City on 21 August 2026 and assessed as compliant with the requirements for presentation to Council. Division 5 Councillor Peter Young will present the petition at the Council meeting on 25 August 2026.
Ediblescapes welcomes this opportunity for the elected Council to consider the situation. We are asking that any report or review includes Ediblescapes’ submissions, supporting evidence and updated history so that Councillors receive a complete, balanced and properly contextualised account.
This page will continue to be updated as further correspondence, Council decisions and community responses become available.
Following the Notice of Non-Renewal, Ediblescapes supporters signed a petition asking the elected Council to receive a report and review the administrative decision affecting the garden.
The petition was formally received by the City on 21 August 2026. On the same date, the City Secretary confirmed that it met the requirements for presentation to Council. Additional original hard-copy sheets were delivered to Division 5 Councillor Peter Young on 22 August, and signed sheets continued to arrive by email until collection closed at 3 pm on 24 August.
More than 100 community members signed the petition, demonstrating strong support for Councillor Peter Young’s action in presenting the matter to Council and seeking a review of the administrative decision affecting Ediblescapes.
Councillor Young will present the petition at the Council meeting on 25 August 2026. The petition has therefore achieved its immediate purpose of bringing the community’s request formally before the elected Council.
Petition collection is now closed. We sincerely thank everyone who signed, collected signatures and returned completed sheets.
Ediblescapes is awaiting Council’s consideration and will update this section when the outcome becomes available.
Follow the events concerning the City’s decision not to renew Ediblescapes’ Deed of Licence. Read the correspondence, access supporting documents and learn how to support the petition requesting Council review.
Ediblescapes received formal notice that the City would not renew its Deed of Licence. The notice requires Ediblescapes to vacate the site by 14 September 2026.
Recreation Services accompanied the formal notice with an email outlining the concerns and examples the City stated had informed its decision.
Ediblescapes disputed important aspects of the allegations and requested the complete reasons and evidence, a fair opportunity to respond, and a meeting before irreversible action occurs.
Ediblescapes lodged an administrative-action complaint through the City’s online process. The City registered the complaint under reference 14844681.
Recreation Services advised that the City’s decision remained unchanged and described it as based on cumulative findings. The response did not provide the detailed findings or supporting evidence requested by Ediblescapes.
Ediblescapes asked the City to identify the applicable complaint-review stage and confirm whether the response was an informal resolution or a preliminary-review outcome.
Councillor Peter Young suggested a paper petition for presentation at the Council meeting on 25 August. The petition requests a Council report and asks that the Notice to vacate be held in abeyance while Council considers the matter.
Issued by: City Secretary, Office of the Chief Executive Officer
From: Recreational Services, City of Gold Coast
Date: 21 August 2026, 2:10 pm
Document type: Ediblescapes public statement
Published: 24 August 2026
The Notice of Non-Renewal and subsequent City correspondence refer to several historical activities and concerns.
This section presents Ediblescapes’ response to each issue separately, supported by dates, photographs, correspondence and relevant context. Its purpose is not to blame individual officers, but to help establish a complete and accurate public record.
Additional responses will be added as the supporting material is reviewed and prepared.
The equipment described as an “incinerator” was a 200-litre metal biochar maker used for limited educational demonstrations in 2022. It was designed to convert clean woody material into biochar under low-oxygen conditions—not to incinerate general waste. Its use ended before the direct Deed of Licence commenced.
Ediblescapes complied with the City’s direction to remove a localised White Ginger clump and provide the material for appropriate disposal. Plants strongly resembling the same species were subsequently documented within maintained landscaping at another City public venue. The issue is not the quantity of plants—it is the consistency of their treatment.
During recurrent flooding in 2022–2023, surface water entered the existing public shelter. Ediblescapes opened a shallow, localised channel to redirect water away from the interior. The area was subsequently softened and regraded before the first direct City licence commenced.
Storage shelves were installed during the NCPA sublicence period under the verbal-permission arrangement Ediblescapes understood was operating at the time. They supported cooking, education and a public gardening library and remained openly visible for several years. Both units were removed in June 2024 before the direct City licence commenced.
