“The 48-Hour free site for RV travellers at Hopetoun is still open … grey nomads and all other RV travellers are welcome to visit and use this popular spot,” he said. “We are looking into relocating it, but that will take some time to and we’ll aim to give plenty of notice when it does happen.”

Back in June, the Mayor said a new arrangement would have to be worked out.

“There was community opposition to the current Hopetoun free camp location and while we could have removed it altogether, we decided to relocate it and to work with the Hopetoun Beachside Caravan Park to keep our RV Friendly status, which means a lot to local businesses who benefit from those travellers coming through,” he said.

The Mayor said that, for Hopetoun to retain its RV Friendly status, it had to offer free or low-cost locations, which means $20 and under per site.

The Shire of Ravensthorpe says it still welcomes RV travellers and hopes to continue to attract them to the region by increasing the number of free camping locations. It says three new official free Shire Approved Overnight Rest Areas will be created at Fitzgerald, Kundip and Munglinup, bringing the total of official free camp locations offered to four.

In its new RV policy, the council says that ‘to ensure that camping for self-contained recreational vehicles and caravan parks can coexist harmoniously, effective management and regulation strategies are necessary to ensure a vibrant tourism and local business sector’.

As is happening elsewhere, it is also seeking to continually assess the economic benefit that free and budget campers bring to the region.

The Shire says it will ‘implement a measuring tool to capture RV visitor spend at each of the free/low cost camping areas to help monitor spend and encourage local businesses to do the same’.

• Do you plan to stay at the Hopetoun free camp in the next few months? Comment below.

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