The future of the award winning Halloween event 'Haunting of Oak Beach' is in jeopardy according to its creator, Richard Lavender.

The event drew 1600 people on Saturday evening, but a noise complaint from a neighbour to Port Douglas Police just two days previous has raised the ire of Mr Lavender.

"Their complaint was that it was too noisy and disturbed their guests. For the past six months they have seen us constructing the attractions. It was no mystery the event was going on. They never complained last year, the year before or the year before that," he said.

"Imagine the complaints from the community if we had been closed down."

Mr Lavender expressed concern that Cairns Regional Council, who was also notified of the noise complaint, would enforce permit conditions that would make the event untennable.
 
"...council's further complaint (is) that this was a money making event. I could only dream that the event made money. We spent $15,000 on the event with 1600 in attendance, 1500 purchased a $5 raffle ticket to gain entrance. You do the math. Does that sound like ‘making money’?

"We were allowed to open but (are) required to get a permit next year. That would be fine but with a permit comes rules and regulations that will be cost prohibitive to open.

"We can’t afford hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring everything up to code to accommodate a bloody permit to have a private party on private land," he said.
 
But a Cairns Regional Council spokesperson played down Mr Lavender's concerns saying Council had no intention of prohibiting the event.

"Council was contacted by the Police last Friday about one complaint it received. They asked whether the event had to have a permit and under the old Local Laws that would have been in place last year, it did not.

"Under the new Local Laws that now cover the entire Council area (from January this year), an event of this type may require a permit or entertainment licence, however that would need to be assessed by officers once any application from the property owners came in.

"The intent is simply for authorities to be aware that the event is being held, given the large amount of people attending, the intent is certainly not to shut it down."

The Council spokesperson estimated the cost for a permit "would be in the vicinity of $250-$300."