FLYING foxes roosting in the centre of Charters Towers will finally be dispersed to a new habitat on the outskirts of town this month.
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The roost in Lissner Park will be encouraged to relocate to an alternative roost site at Young's Block, which is nearing completion.
The Department of Environment and Science have engaged contractors to undertake flying fox dispersal activities from Tuesday, July 14.
These will take place from 4am to 7am daily for up to four weeks.
Residents in the area will likely be impacted by noise, smoke and light disturbances during this period.
Charters Towers Regional Council Mayor Frank Beveridge said the long-awaited dispersal of flying foxes was a significant issue for Charters Towers residents.
"This is a great step forward for the Charters Towers community who have been waiting so long to reclaim their public space," Cr Beveridge said.
"For too long Lissner Park has been overcome by the flying foxes, denying the community the opportunity to use this beautiful public space and causing significant damage to our trees.
"It is time for action. We know that flying-foxes play an important environmental role, however, it is critical this relocation successfully removes the flying-foxes from our park."
Cr Beveridge urged patience, saying the relocation might take time.
"Any time you try to control the behaviour of wild animals the results can be unpredictable," he said.
"Once the dispersal begins, we can't predict with certainty how the animals will respond to the relocation.
"The community should have realistic expectations on how noisy this process is, how slow and frustrating it may sometimes be.
"This could be a very slow process, taking weeks for the initial dispersal."
Cr Beveridge said council would undertake long-term measures to discourage the flying foxes from returning to Lissner Park.
