Terella Brewing fined $150,000 for unlawful use of premises

Sunshine Coast's Terella Brewing has been fined in court following an ongoing legal battle with its local council.

The now-closed hinterland venue, which opened in 2019, also ran outdoor markets, family events, animal encounters, and hosted live music.

Council approved a Development Application for Intensive Horticulture in 2016 for the venue's address.

The brewery previously told the ABC that noise and traffic complaints were made by a neighbour in 2023.

In the years since, owners said they attempted to supply the council with all the necessary information and reports.

Then, in late 2024, the brewery applied for a material change of use for the site.

The brewery was last year issued with an enforcement notice by the council over its lack of permits to sell food and drinks. The venue launched an appeal with the Planning and Environment Court.

After more than 12 months of working through the development application process, and reportedly spending more than $169,000 in fees, Terella withdrew its planning request in February this year, then closed its doors in March.

Six-figure fine

Today, Magistrate Andrew Sinclair fined the brewery $150,000 at Maroochydore Magistrates Court.

This followed the brewery entering a guilty plea for unlawful use of premises in May, as charged by Sunshine Coast Council.

Sunshine Coast Council chief executive John Baker previously said the brewery did not have the right approvals.

"If you set up a busy weekend food market or a live music venue in a quiet residential pocket without the right approvals, without the right insurances and without traffic management or safety controls, that's not fair on neighbours or other business owners that have spent a huge amount of time and paid the costs to be able to set up that business," he said.

"To ensure fairness, council has taken the necessary action to hold Terella Brewing to the same laws, regulations and requirements as every other Sunshine Coast business."

The court heard Terella Brewing must also pay $4,712.24 for "professional costs".

Prosecution compared brewery to festival

At the pre-sentencing hearing at Maroochydore Magistrates Court on May 13, Keith Wylie represented council and argued the brewery was "akin to some type of festival".

A council officer visited the site and said parking was "unregulated and unsafe".

The court heard the officer had "doubts as to whether there was enough parking".

She also said there were no constraints to the amount of people or cars on site and that there was no security.

'Campaign to sway the public against council'

It was agreed that, from November 23, 2023, the brewery knew of council's stance following an email regarding its lack of permits.

Mr Wylie told the court Terella Brewing had "attempted to create a grassroots campaign to sway the general public against council".

He said that included launching an online fundraising campaign, doing media interviews, and talking with politicians.

"[It all points to a] total lack of remorse and a total lack of appreciation of the material," Mr Wylie said.

'Labour of love'

Barrister David Purcell, who represented Terella Brewing at the pre-sentencing hearing last month, told the court the brewery contacted council in February 2019, requesting operation advice.

Mr Purcell claimed there was no approval, but council said, "If you operated within these constraints, it would be OK".

He said, following council's email regarding the unlawful use in November 2023, "they were seeking to work with council" and "sought to apply for the correct development application".

Mr Purcell said the brewery's net profit before interest and inflation "wasn't huge".

"It was a labour of love for a mum-and-dad business," Mr Purcell said.

"If they'd known it was unlawful they wouldn't have pursued it … it evolved over time … but they accept now that it was unlawful from November 2023."

Neighbour's 'don't live there'

Regarding the 2023 noise complaint, Mr Purcell said those neighbours did not live next door to the North Arm venue full-time.

"He only goes there every few months for a few days at a time," Mr Purcell said.

"He relocated to Gladstone in 2020. But we accept those concerns."

Mr Purcell rejected claims it was akin to a four-day festival and said the offending was not malicious but "arose as a misunderstanding".

No conviction was recorded and the owners of Terella Brewing were not charged individually.