Backdown on caravan park
QUEENSCLIFF council is considering an about-face on its plan to force out tenants at Point Lonsdale’s Golightly Park caravan park.
Council officers are now recommending to tomorrow night’s monthly council meeting that only the relocation of five existing cabins from Queenscliff Recreation Reserve to Golightly Park proceed and also not replace all caravans at Golightly with cabins.
The all-cabins vision was part of the council’s controversial caravan parks master plan.
But if the recommendation is passed tomorrow night, the council would instead undertake more community consultation and conduct “further investigation to explore longterm options”.
The backflip comes after some Golightly residents were this month told they had less than 12 months to leave the park — even though Queenscliff council is yet to finalise the master plan.
The master plan reveals major changes to several council-run facilities. Golightly was set to experience the most drastic change.
There are 60 existing powered sites at the park — 45 annual and 15 casual — and under both master plan options, they were all to be replaced with cabins.
Golightly Park Residents Association secretary Mark Binks said the latest twist in the long-running saga showed the council had “seen and heard the overwhelming response” from both the community and traders.
“We have always offered open and transparent conversation with the council and officers over the last decade — which they have never entertained — but hopefully this is the time to provide real insight,” Mr Binks said.
“We look forward to working with council on future options.”
The notice to vacate — dated for July 2019 — was issued this month on the premise of a long-included but “not regularly” enforced clause that “no caravan over the age of 30 will be issued a permit” and none aged “40 or more years old may remain in the park.”
No decision has yet been reached on the future of those vans, but a spokeswoman for the Borough of Queenscliffe said the council would further consider this “given the level of feedback from permit holders”.
“For many years, there has been a clause in council’s caravan park permits requiring vans over 40 years of age to be removed from council-managed parks, and stating that permits will not be renewed for vans over 30 years of age,” she said. “This has not been regularly enforced.”
The council confirmed it has issued 35 notices to permit holders across the borough regarding the age of their vans.
Golightly Park Residents Association president Grant Wiltshire said that decadeslong uncertainty over the future of Golightly meant many had not been prepared to invest back in their vans.
The council will vote to adopt the amended master plan tomorrow night.