CEO Sharon Ibardolaza said Council would begin issuing three-year trustee permits when the current paddock tenures expire on June 30, 2018.

“While Council understands some of these paddocks were bought for very large sums of money, at the end of the day this is a community reserve and not real estate,” Ms Ibardolaza said.

Ms Ibardolaza said all current horse paddock lessees will soon receive correspondence from Mount Isa City Council advising them of the new terms and conditions.

“The horse paddocks are located on State government owned land with Council acting as the trustees,” she said. “They were established to provide local families with a place to keep their horses, allowing them to enjoy their interest and passion close to the city.”

Ms Ibardolaza said they were aware there was a growing list of people either being forced to wait for long periods for paddocks to become available or are paying existing lessees for access.

“Buying and selling leases was never the intent of the original horse paddock use, which was resolved by Council in 1985,” she said.

“As of 1 July 2018, these and other past practices will come to an end with the issuing of new trustee permits.”

Council said that to ensure all horse owners receive a fair go, trustee permits will be limited to one permit per owner. Owners with multiple paddock holdings will be given the opportunity to advise council which paddock they wish to keep.

“In accordance with the Land Act 1994 Queensland, sub-leasing, agistment and all other profit driven enterprises will be banned,” Ms Ibardolaza said.

“Where the permit is surrendered early, the paddock will be offered to the next person on the waiting list.”

Ms Ibardolaza said Council was not obliged to renew the leases or grant trustee permits to the current lessees, nor is Council responsible for how much people paid to buy the term of their current lease.

“Council has reviewed the pricing structure to ensure all paddock holders are charged using the same rent formula,” she said. “There will also be a charge based on cost recovery for re-cycled effluent water.”

Ms Ibardolaza said only local horse owners with a Mount Isa address will be able to apply for a trustee permit for a paddock.

“We think that’s only fair that you must be living in Mount Isa to be eligible for a local horse paddock.”