Tableland (Australia) tourism park operators are worried about a proposal allowing landowners to let RVs and caravans on their property.
According to a report, last week, the Tablelands Regional Council (TRC) published it on its site under Proposed Planning Scheme Amendment No. 5 of 2021.
The document stated that the council was planning to cut red tape for small-scale RVs and short-term accommodation on certain sites within the TRC area.
The changes generally allow up to six self-contained RVs on-site at any one time without a development permit providing certain conditions are complied with,” the proposal said.
The council documents also stated that 20 self-contained vehicles could stay without development approval in certain areas. However, they must be located on a site that is two or more hectares large.
The maximum duration of stay could be 13 consecutive nights in the Rural Zone (Agricultural Investigation and Broad Hectare Precincts) and six consecutive nights in all other relevant zones.
Owners of the local caravan parks are dissatisfied with the council’s decision to consider the plan even though they still suffer from a slump in tourism due to COVID-19.
Lake Tinaroo Holiday Park owner Lachlan Farquharsan said caravan park owners were angry over what they believe were underhand tactics used by the TRC.
“Last week, one of the owners at another caravan park contacted us about what they saw on the TRC website,” Farquharsan said.
“They are trying to attract a market that we are already providing for, and none of the caravan parks in the region are ever at 100% capacity,” Farquharsan added.
Farquharsan stated that local parks would suffer financially if local landowners decided to open mini caravan parks.
“Of course, they are going to be cheaper. They won’t have to jump through the financial hoops or pay the fees or charges that we have to,” he said.
“They won’t have any overheads or facilities, and they won’t even need people on site.”
“Environmentally, this could be a disaster if people just start dumping their waste anywhere. At least we offer waste dump facilities.”
Mayor Rod Marti said that people were given until February 16 to express their opinions.
“We are trying to build up our capacity in rural precincts to take RVs on their properties without creating a lot of red tapes,” Marti said.
“We have had an enormous influx of RVs and people wanting to stay on properties, and we are trying to see if we can make some minor amendments to make that easier,” he said. “There is a benefit to the community if we allow RVs and caravans to stay in the region for longer.”
“This proposal is only for RVs and fully self-contained vehicles; therefore, landholders will not need to install shower, waste, or toilet facilities,” Marti said.
Marti stated that if the proposed changes were to be approved, he was not convinced that it would financially affect the owners of local caravan parks.
“We need to change with the times, and this is an example of council being agile,” he said.
“The RV market is a huge market, and there are RV owners who do not use traditional caravan parks, and we want to be part of that,” he said.
On Monday, 11 caravan park operators came together to discuss TRC’s new idea.
“Local operators are now wondering why they would keep paying to keep their caravan park operating if the council is just going to allow anybody to open a mini caravan park,” Farquharson said.
“We also discussed why they haven’t contacted us. If we didn’t go scrolling through the TRC website, we would have had no idea this was happening.”
“We want the council to talk to us and tell us why this is a good idea and how it is going to help the Tablelands.” Farquharson ended.