A magnificent but neglected coastal caravan park looks set to get the facelift it desperately needs … thanks to people power.
It took a petition by outraged residents and tourists to trigger a detailed inspection of the council-owned Beachside Caravan Park in Queensland’s grey nomad hotspot of Yeppoon.
The results were shocking. Councillors were told that the park had been neglected since at least 2000 and that it would cost nearly half a million dollars to fix.
There was reportedly no maintenance schedule in place, and customers had been complaining about the rundown state of the amenities for more than a decade.
Cr Sandra O’Brien was disgusted such a grey nomad drawcard could have been allowed to fall into such disrepair.
“We should never get to this stage again,” she told the Morning Bulletin. “It is embarrassing that it took a petition from residents and visitors to bring this to our attention.”
Bob Holmes, the council’s general manager of commercial services, said the council had allocated $120,000 to the park for the construction of a new amenities block, but that money should be diverted immediately to carry out emergency repairs.
Councillors unanimously backed his recommendation that additional funding of $310,000 be identified at the next budget review.
Mr Holmes said that the only solution might be to seek a private company to take the park on a long commercial lease and pay for repairs and refurbishments up front.
