The iconic 747 at Shellharbour Airport is so big there isn't enough room for all of it.
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Situated outside the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) premises, the tail and part of the wing hangs over the fence and out over the nearby Boomerang Avenue.
Cars regularly drive under it, while others park in its shadow - though Shellharbour City Council papers state "it does not interfere with the access or use of Boomerang Avenue".
Still, that encroachment over the road costs money; at Tuesday night's council meeting councillors will decide whether to extend HARS' lease of the airspace over the council road for another five years.
In case you're wondering how much it costs to lease the air over a road, HARS has been paying council $650 a year.
"Council's valuer has advised that this figure should remain the same, largely due to the minimal area involved, uniqueness and the lack of comparable airspace leases," council papers stated.
The lease over the airspace and the council-owned land inside the airport where the 747 now rests expired in March 2020 and has been carried on in a holding-over period ever since.
Council papers stated the new annual lease for the airport land would be $17,543 - which included a 54.1 per cent subsidy.
In response HARS representatives said that subsidised lease was still substantially more than the $4773 the group had been paying.
Council then proposed a declining subsidy rate, starting at 85 per cent for the first year before reaching 54.1 per cent for the fourth and fifth years.
Council papers noted the subsidy was in recognition of "the tourism benefits the 747 brings to Shellharbour City due to its historical significance".
HARS told council the 747 draws in around 25,000 visitors a year.
The council officers' recommendation is that the ground and airspace leases both be approved with the latter starting at $650 and increasing in line with CPI for the remaining years of the lease.
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Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
