Big Splash owners open tent and barbecue as 'restaurant' to keep waterpark lease
Mortgagees opened a pop-up food vendor as an unlicensed family restaurant to keep the Big Splash lease compliant by November 1.
The Big Splash site has sat derelict in Macquarie since March 2024. The lease requires the owners to operate either a 50-metre pool or an unlicensed family restaurant.
When the pool reopening stalled, they chose the restaurant path. On Sunday, mortgagees organised a pop-up food vendor to meet the deadline.
The Greens, Liberals and the Save Big Splash campaign group called it box-ticking and demanded the lease be terminated. Access Canberra said it continues to monitor the site.
The owners were twice ordered to maintain and secure the property but were never fined.
- March 2024
- Site derelict since
- November 1, 2026
- Compliance deadline
Why it mattersIt shows how regulatory loopholes can let a major community facility stay abandoned while the letter of the law is technically obeyed.
AustraliaCanberra's Big Splash waterpark remains closed to the public, and the legal fight over whether the tent counts as a restaurant may determine its future.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
