As rural Australia seeks to recover from the economic impact of Covid, another country town is to trial a free camping area in an effort to attract more grey nomads.
Travellers in self-contained vehicles who prefer not to stay in established caravan parks are now being encouraged to stay at the Casino Showground, rather than pass through the New South Wales town.
Richmond Valley Council says the specifically-marked area at the showground is limited to 12 vehicles for a maximum stay of 48 hours each.
Council general Manager Vaughan Macdonald told the Ballina Advocate that anecdotal evidence suggested many free campers using the Summerland Way were stopping at the Braemar State Forest rest area, and only passing through Casino on their way to Queensland.
He said this meant many local businesses were missing out on important trade.
“Following representations from the Casino Chamber of Commerce and industry, council has been looking at ways to grow the tourism pie for the benefit of the community,” Mr Macdonald told the Advocate. “Encouraging more travellers to stay overnight can only benefit the local economy through the purchasing of local goods and services.”
Mr Macdonald said the council was confident the camping site would not have a negative impact on existing accommodation premises as these travellers were not stopping in town anyway.
“We would like to think that what is not being spent on accommodation by freedom campers is being used to purchase food and retail goods and spent on transport needs, such as fuel and tyres,” he said. “Our Discover Richmond Valley team already advises visitors to use local accommodation providers, including holiday parks, however, we believe freedom campers could add a substantial contribution to the local economy.”
The Advocate reports that the showground is already served by a dump point, but all vehicles staying there will need to be self-contained, meaning owners will need to be responsible for their own water supply, sink, shower, greywater storage, toilet and rubbish removal.
The camping sites will be managed in accordance with the council’s rules and regulations, and will be monitored by council rangers, who will regularly patrol the area.
I think a toilet in a free camp is a must for most people, for us its no toilet no stop.
Fantastic, love the idea.
I want to be fully set up to use sites like that, however I’m wondering what “exactly” will be the grey water capture and self contained ablutions requirements.. I happy to comply, but just want to know exactly how to comply. Ie will I need to affix a dedicated grey water tank under the van, or would a 20l bucket and grey water jerry cans suffice? (ie to capture all the grey water), and would I have to affix a dedicated toilet into the van, or would a “porta-pottie” suffice? I’m wondering if there are any standards or guidelines for what is referred to as “self-contained”?
Great to see a progressive council thinking beyond what caravan park owners demand.
Smart move council! More councils are realizing that free camping means more money spread over more businesses in town
It’s a great idea . I am travelling in a Motorhome with everything on board,
and my point is ,that if a town doesn’t have a free camp within 20 km ,I will not spend any money in that town
We travel in a fully self contained motorhome and have found many towns now have RV parks either free or very reasonably priced. We make use of them and always try to reciprocate by spending some money in the town.
A dump point and access to drinking water in the campsite or within the town make it all the more attractive,
At Meanderra and Tara in Qld, the Western Downs Regional Council even offered power connection in special deal for just $10 for 3 days.