The fallout from the decision to close a popular free camping area back in March continues to reverberate around the Victorian town of Ballarat.
The facility at Pioneer Park was closed amid complaints caravan park owners that their businesses had been negatively impacted and claims that people were overstaying the two permitted nights, and not meeting the self-containment water and toilet measures.
In the immediate aftermath of the closure, there were apparently issues with people illegally camping in the park but extra patrols of the site by council officers and community members has seen this behaviour dramatically reduced.
Despite the closure of the Pioneer Park to campers, some councillors say the idea of allowing free camping for campervans and motorhomes is ‘not dead in the water’.
Councillor Vicki Coltman told the Ballarat Courier that discussions were underway to find a new site to allow recreational vehicles to stay in Ballarat for little or no cost.
“Right from the beginning of this proposal the council have made it clear we are not opposed to the idea of freedom camping but we do believe Pioneer Park was not the best representation of our beautiful city,” Cr Coltman told the paper. “The idea is not dead in the water as such.”
She said it was simply unviable to establish a freedom camping site in the heart of the CBD, but insisted that the council was looking at other sites in surrounding townships. She said finding such a site could bring economic benefit not just to the city, but also boost townships on the outskirts of Ballarat.
Cr Coltman said ideas floated so far included opening a site in an area like Miners Rest or at the council run caravan park in Learmonth. * Have you adjusted your travel plans since the closure of the Pioneer Park free camping area, or is Ballarat still on your ‘stop and have a look around’ list? Comment below.
Travelling around, time & time again, you see Councils, supposed reps of the People, cave in to Caravan Park owners/operators political pressure saying “they” are losing money as result of free camping provisions. It’s about time Councils showed more “backbone” and supported many other businesses in their towns, who by & large are family operated; more importantly work for the betterment of their Town not Company Shareholders greed.
Very true. Should be more freedom camps. Brings more money into towns as travelers would not stop. Most travelers do some caravan parks and some freedom. Provide more freedom camps and you will get more travelers in your area. WA need more freedom camps to get more travelers from the East to go there.
Why don’t motel owners stop caravan parks putting in cabins that undercut their business, or hardware stores stop Bunnings or butchers stop supermarkets selling meat, you can’t deny people the right to chose their own suppliers and if caravan parks aren’t supplying the product the people want then it is up to them to change their operation, not force people to stay in their parks through legislation.
Ballarat, your dead to me!
There was a survey done last year on the benefits of free camping in a town.It clearly showed that people who free camped still spent money all over the town instead of just in the caravan parks.There will always be people who prefer to stay in caravan parks but there has to be facilities for those who prefer free camping. We went around Australia last year aand did a percentage in caravan parks but the majority was free camping but we made sure when we did so we spent money in the town such as the smal butcher and greengrocer. So we spread our money over the town and not just caravan fees. Not everyone can afford to stay in caravan parks and most vans are self contained anyway and I object to paying up to $50 a night for a small piece of dirt to park my van on and use minimal electricity and water
Spot on Chris
TAKE YOUR DOLLARS ELSEWHERE…WE GOT TO BE TOUGH ON THOSE THAT RIP US OFF !
It’s annoying this debate is so one-sided. Where are these $50+ sites that everyone quotes? East Coast Regional and rural Australia is dominated by parks charging about $28-$33 for a powered site, $25 without. Does anyone realise that parks charge what they do to recover costs??? Does anyone think we actually make a profit from them these days? Where do these costs come from – Council, Federal & state govt’s! ! ! ! ! Think about it, Federal Licences to operate (ASIC), State Licences to operate, Council Licences to operate. Consider these costs per site: Land $2,500, Development Application Fees $10,000, Planning Approvals $500, Sullage $500, Water $350, Electricity $750, paved roads, fencing for security, gardens for privacy, lighting for safety $1000. Then add weekly Council costs for rubbish ($300), Sewerage ($750) and water ($150 and you start to realise there is no such thing as a cheap piece of dirt. Oh, add 10%GST for the Feds.
In fact, basic costs add up to about $28 per site per night. Being self-contained makes bugger all difference to the costs (just under 10%) but sewerage still needs to be treated anyway, whether it starts in a dump point or from a traditional toilet.
There are too many people who have no idea about where the costs lie, don’t care and don’t bother to ask. It is like burying your head in the sand and pretending it wan’t true – never let facts get in the way of a good story eh! Constant attacks on caravan park owners is disgraceful and un-Australian. Almost without exception, we are all hard-working families.
To argue that parks pinch business from motels with cabins, or that anyone can sell meat is so naive it’s not funny. Each of those things cost money. It is nothing more than competition. In our case, we have paid millions of dollars in fees and charges to Council, who then stab us in the back by giving those same services away for free and without any measures of compliance that we must endure constantly from health inspectors. That’s not even remotely fair competition!
We still owe the bank money, borrowed to pay Council for the “right to compete” in the commercial RV market and now those same Councils kill our potential to pay those loans back. It’s not competition, it’s disgusting and immoral. If the provision of free camping in cities was so valuable to retailers, they have every right to buy land and go through the same mess and costings we had to. It’s just a marketing cost to them. Those same retailers always seem to have empty wallets come time to round up funds to promote our towns. Funny thing that.
Freedom camping has it’s place and my family have always enjoyed free camping in remote locations and on long trips, but don’t expect free accommodation in cities.
We work 14 hrs a day, 365 days a year, always with a warm greeting and lots of suggestions for our visitors to enjoy our city. But we have had enough. We invested everything but have lost most of our business to free camping set up by our own Council. It was only a few years ago, that same Council was begging us to invest in their city.
Think about it, once most regional Australian caravan parks go under, what will be left for future generations of RV travelers. When you kill off private investment, things never seem to go well thereafter.
Might I suggest people stop attacking Park Owners and look at the source of site fees – Councils! Demand lower costs for rates, sewerage treatment, water and waste removal and park fees will lower significantly. Remove the concept of “free” from your mindsets because a patch of grass is nowhere near bloody free.
Stop attacking the symptom and address the cause!