When free camping areas across the country closed as the pandemic struck last March, the more cynical among the grey nomad community questioned whether some would ever open again.
However, the caravanners and motorhomers that weren’t allowed to visit regional areas due to travel restrictions were missed.
There appeared to be a greater appreciation of the contribution that these travellers made. Most small communities were desperate to see grey nomads return to help them kick-start their economic recoveries.
So, as the immediacy of the Covid-19 threat in Australia receded, many – but not all – of the free camps re-opened.
And most grey nomads were equally eager to do what they could to help towns that had been doing it tough. In some places though, there was a feeling that local accommodation providers would be hurt if free campsites opened again.
In places like Mount Barker in Western Australia, the Shire of Plantagenet decided in June last year that it would not re-open the free overnight RV facility at Memorial Road immediately. Councillors came to that decision after hearing from Shirley Smith, the owner of the Mt Barker Caravan Park, who explained how hard her business had been hit by the pandemic.
The council was sympathetic.
“As Mrs Smith was seeking a temporary closure only and being aware of the impact that Covid-19 was having on economic activity, a majority of councillors believed that the short-term assistance was justified,” said Shire chief executive, Rob Stewart. “The ban on intrastate hit accommodation places hard.”
The RV Park was supposed to open again on December 31. However, the decision to temporarily close the area has now been made permanent.
In a 6-2 vote, Shire of Plantagenet councillors have just decided to close forever the RV parking area that originally opened to self-contained travellers way back in 2014.
Shire president Chris Pavlovich said Mount Barker, which is about 50 kilometres north of Albany, had now become more of a ‘destination’, rather than a place people “drove through to get to somewhere else”.
The Shire said it received 40 letters from local businesses supporting the caravan park’s request to have the RV park permanently closed.
Council officers said it was accepted that many budget-minded travellers gravitated to free camping areas.
“How many of these travellers choose these sites over a caravan park and how much they spend in the town is not directly identified,” the officers said. “With the only statistics being from touristy type surveys, they provide a general indication of the average spend by travellers.”
The question that many of the more cynical grey nomads will now be asking themselves is just how many other free campsites that have been closed due to the impact of Covid-19 will not, in fact, ever re-open.
Do the council’s and the Caravan Parks know if they close free camps.
Grey nomads and other caravans will just drive pass your council areas and will also drive pass Caravan Park that get councils to close free camps.
So it a No Win for Caravan park , don’t try and dictate to the permanent travellers because you will Lose
Extremely wrong move for your town. We along with many other travellers will bypass your town in favour of a RV Friendly town and spend our money there. The shop owners are going to be the losers in this move. For your information, the amount of money spent by Grey nomads is actually collected by most councils around Australia, maybe this council should have done their homework before making this decision.
I’m all for a mix of Caravan Parks and Freedom Camping, I don’t believe anything should be free. I for one am happy to donate in upkeep of low cost camps to keep them going.
Caravan parks are becoming greedy in their overinflated prices, I like many others don’t need bells and whistles, jumping pillows, kids play areas etc.
Local shires are just shooting them selves in the foot, and the grey nomad population who travel permanently, and far outweigh the holiday information families, on the road are going to bypass them.
At least with lower cost camping options they are likely to spend $$$ in town.
Oh well
Their loss
Avoid the area.
There are plenty a town and regions that are proud to have free or low cost camps because they know the benefits of doing so
Yep, vote with your feet, or in ours cases, vote with your caravan wheels.
We had the misfortune to stay at the Mt Barker caravan park, fortunately only on one occasion and the person there spent 90% of check in time telling us the “rules”. I think it must be like checking in to a prison.
If you had a shop and someone down the road opened up against council approve and they were taking your business away what would you do?. Besides these big $$$ off road things with big $$$ tow vehicles are too stingy to pay for proper sites. Free camps are good when they don’t effect legit business in town.
Actually Old Clem, Free camps in a town are the completely opposite to effecting “legit businesses” in a town in a bad way. They, in fact add value to all sorts of town businesses by the so called $$$ rigs. Some just prefer to travel/camp that way, which does not mean they do not spend on many and varied places in a town, A caravan park is not the be all and end all for some.A large percentage will still prefer caravan parks, so it is my view it creates a good balance and sends better massages out to caravaner’s about what a RV friendly town is all about..
Taking business away ???
C P do just everyday
Take away from the motelling industry.
How about c.p that are just for caravans as the name says.
Not many of them anymore
Their loss,silly move,you’ll be sorry
Thats dead set right Ray..!
Simple move on to the next town, they’ll appreciate your most welcome $$$
There is room for both.
there are 5 vans parked at a freebie, the local caravan park operator thinks that if he or she gets the freebie closed down those 5 will stay in their park; WRONG. People free camp mostly because they like the freedom of not being jammed into a park. As has been said some people only stay in parks. We have a group of friends who go to Carnarvon WA to a park each year for up to 3 months and stay in parks every night on the way up and back. We go up north to Broome and don’t stop in a park until we get up there.
With you 100% Rob Jones, We do that also when heading up there (and further) . What a great life style eh. Continue to enjoy just as we hope to do.
My wife and i do the same. We don’t mind paying for a park . We believe the high cost of a park in Broome is offset by free camping there and back .
The only way councils will find out the value of the free camps is to install a receipt box at these camps and encourage nomads, through signs in all businesses in town and staff education, to place all receipts for money spent in these boxes before they leave. This will give a more accurate amount of what is spent in town. There are travellers that just can’t afford the nightly fees some parks charge.
Great suggestion Jeffrey Fulton !!
Counclis that do have “free camping areas” would be much better off measuring the amount of money (in receipts) spent in their towns.
Then any ideas of closing a free camp in the interests of only caravan park/s would, or may, highlight to the rest of the community, other than the caravan park, how much revenue they may miss out on !!
The caravan park is a business, don’t accomodate them alone ahead of the rest of the community.
In our opinion, BOTH can live together. 🙂
– Ted & Rosie – Greay Nomads