Festive Footpaths
Brisbane City Council encourages residents to celebrate and enjoy festive occasions within our communities.
To help get into the spirit of the festive season, Council has introduced the Festive Footpaths program where Brisbane residents can decorate their footpath and street trees during designated periods. The program will cover the 2023 Halloween and Christmas period. The Festive Footpaths program establishes a self-assessment system under the Public Land and Council Assets Local Law 2014.
Festive period - 15 October 2023 to 14 January 2024
Footpath decorations should only be displayed for the prescribed festive period. Residents should ensure all decorations are put up and taken down within these dates.
Decorating your footpath
Residents whose festive footpath decorations meet the criteria set out in the self-assessment table below may display decorations on Council controlled footpaths and street trees without a Council permit.
You need to make sure that your festive footpath decorations are respectful of the needs of others. They must be well-maintained and safe, must not damage street trees, and must keep the footpath accessible for everyone without negatively impacting the environment and surrounding infrastructure.
Festive footpath self-assessment
To make sure your festive footpath decorations meet Brisbane City Council’s requirements, residents are encouraged to complete the checklist before putting up their decorations. This will help you to ensure your decorations do not impact on the safety of your local community, environment or surrounding infrastructure.
Download:
Recommended decorations
Residents are encouraged to use decorations like decorative wreaths, bows around street trees, decorative bunting and solar powered lights (on fences and in street trees). Council encourages the use of natural materials and sustainable products.
It’s best to consult with neighbours around decorations and lights. You might want to join together and create a theme for your street.
Decorations to avoid
- Care should be taken not to attach decorations or obstruct access to infrastructure such as fire hydrants or obscure road signage.
- Painting or drawing are not to be used as methods to decorate footpaths.
- Avoid damaging street trees. Careful consideration needs to be given to how decorations are attached to street trees. Use flexible material that will not damage the trees (e.g. loose string/tape etc), decorations should not be attached in a manner that may damage the tree, for example, using cable ties, staples screws etc. It is also important that decorations are located in a manner that does not require climbing of the tree.
- Minimise or avoid the use of balloons and other materials that are likely to harm or disturb wildlife and pollute the environment.
- Please ensure you read the checklist for further guidance.
Responsibility
The homeowner is responsible for the decorations adjacent to their property. While decorations are placed in public spaces, priority must always be given to maintenance and access for utilities services such as pedestrian movement, water and sewerage, power, gas, telephones, optic fibre cables. If adequate access is not provided, householders may be asked to remove or make changes to their decorations.
Footpath decorations should only be displayed for the nominated festive periods. Residents should ensure all decorations are put up and taken down within these dates.
Decorations that don't comply
If you are concerned decorations don’t meet the requirements of the above checklist, phone Council to discuss on 07 3403 8888.