Move over caravan parks, the water slides are on the march!
Fraser Coast Regional Council deputy mayor David Dalgleish has shocked many by calling for the largest of council-owned beachfront caravan parks to be scrapped … so that a water park next door can be expanded!
He reckons all the grey nomads and other holiday-makers who currently visit the Pialba Beachfront Caravan Park in Hervey Bay can stay in one of the other caravan parks along the Esplanade instead. And with a sudden shortage of places for vans to stay, Clr Dalgleish reckons the profitability of each of these other caravan parks will increase. Genius!
It’s all part of the deputy mayor’s scheme to attract more families to the area and he points enviously to the success of the large theme parks, such as Wet n Wild, on the Gold Coast.
He told the Fraser Coast News that the newly expanded WetSide Water Park would be a privately owned enterprise, taking the burden of its running costs off the ratepayers.
“The way WetSide is now is great for young kids, but it needs some bigger and better attractions to keep the older ones interested,” Cr Dalgleish told the paper. “I’ve heard lots positive feedback from holidaymakers, but people consistently say the park should be bigger.”
A revamped WetSide would become a paid attraction under Cr Dalgleish’s plan, although he suggested that the existing part of the park could remain free as the entrance to the new area, where people could still play as they waited to get in.
Cr Dalgleish’s plan is just an idea at this stage and he says extensive public consultation on the proposal is vital before it moves ahead.
