ILLEGAL CAMP CRACKDOWN
CAMPERS TOLD TO MOVE ON
A TORQUAY road faces a closure of up to eight months due to an increase in illegal camping.
The Great Ocean Road Coast Committee (GORCC) closed Tip Rd yesterday in a bid to comply with current social distancing rules, due to the coronavirus pandemic sweeping Australia, and to stop illegal camping.
“Due to an increase in illegal camping and the need to protect both GORCC and Surf Coast Shire rangers and contractors, we will be closing the dirt section of The Esplanade (also known as Tip Rd),” GORCC said online.
“This includes the toilet and beach access at Point Impossible nude beach.”
The closure will stay in place until the COVID-19 situation improves and the road becomes dry again, which is usually in late November, according to GORCC.
Greater Torquay Alliance president Andrew Cherrubin said a number of tourists in campervans were still setting up in ‘no camping’ areas.
“If they’re trying to do it cheap or extend their holiday, maybe council should be controlling them a bit better,” Mr Cherrubin said. “But now, with the state borders shut down, they might be trying to do the right thing and bunker themselves down.
“If it is something because of the COVID-19, maybe we do have to have more of a humanitarian approach and offer cheap, safe location for these people to stay.”
Camping and sleeping in vehicles is only allowed in designated areas, and offenders can face on-the-spot fines of $125, according to local laws.
Surf Coast Shire Mayor Rose Hodge said illegal camping occurs “occasionally” in the region, but fears it could increase as people look for alternative places to stay.
“Campers should be home, there is no excuse,” Cr Hodge said. “There is a ban on non-essential travel — a week camping or a weekend away is not essential.”
She said shire rangers often helped campers who were experiencing difficulty by redirecting them to other services.
“If they are homeless or experiencing hardships, then we need to try and help those people,” she said. “But if they don’t want to pay camping ground costs, that’s just not OK.”