An Australian family says they cannot afford to reopen their free bush campsite after the Cobar Shire Council approved their development application only on the condition that the property owner fund road and facility upgrades estimated at up to $1.6 million.
The Glen Hope Bush Camp, located on the family’s farm off the Barrier Highway near the NSW mining town of Cobar, has been closed for over a year following the council’s intervention, according to an article by Yahoo!News.
Kara O’Hara said her parents, Mark and Marie Johnson, originally opened the front paddock of their farm to bush campers roughly nine and a half years ago after noticing that tourists visiting Cobar had limited, cheap accommodation options.
The campsite operated for free and was never intended to generate profit. O’Hara said local businesses have expressed support for the campground, as they are concerned travellers will stop passing through town without access to the site.
The council approached the family to submit a development application for the campsite, which was denied several times, according to O’Hara. The family spent $25,000 hiring professionals to prepare applications through multiple rounds of resubmission.
“We’ve done everything possible from here onwards to try and be compliant, jumping through the hurdles,” O’Hara told Yahoo News.
The council has since approved the application but imposed conditions requiring compostable toilets for campers and intersection upgrades to the Barrier Highway where campers turn into the campsite.
Those roadworks include widened and sealed pavement, line marking, signage, and a Basic Right Turn and Basic Left Turn intersection treatment.
O’Hara estimated the upgrades would cost between $1.2 million and $1.6 million. “We don’t own the road,” she said.
Transport for NSW confirmed it agreed the intersection work must be completed before the campsite can reopen. In a statement to Yahoo, the council said the applicant’s own traffic consultant concluded the intersection upgrades were needed.
O’Hara argued the cost is unfeasible for a family operating a free, low-cost campsite. “Even if we won the Lotto tomorrow, it is not feasible,” she said.
The council has warned that if people are found staying at the site while it remains closed, the property owners face fines of $3,000 for individuals or $6,000 for a corporation.
O’Hara said the family is questioning why they should bear the full financial burden of highway works and is exploring whether government or tourism funding could help cover the cost. “We’re not going to give up,” she said.
For campground operators, the dispute highlights how local government infrastructure requirements can create disproportionate financial barriers for small, independently operated campsites.
