Caravan park operators in far north Queensland have welcomed the decision to shelve plans to build an RV Park in Mossman.
A majority of Douglas Shire councillors voted against the proposal at an ordinary council meeting last week.
Glengarry BIG4 Port Douglas Holiday Park manager Karlie Brady told the Cairns Post that, if an RV Park has been approved, it would have made life even tougher for her family-run facility.
It comes after a survey, conducted by council in September, found five caravan park owners strongly objected to the move in Mossman, or anywhere in the region.
“To say RVs are not welcome here is unfair,” Ms Brady said. “There are 13 caravan parks and campgrounds in the shire whose job is literally to cater to RVs and caravans and they do actually visit the shire.”
The recent poll found that total 94% of the 383 survey respondents thought an RV Park would be beneficial for the Mossman economy.
However, Ms Brady was not convinced.
“We see RVs in our parks in big numbers every year,” she told the Cairns Post. “If you were to take away the RVs from caravan parks, you would severely hurt these local caravan park businesses who are already suffering during Covid.”
Mayor Michael Kerr though see the rejection of the plan as a missed opportunity, and thinks approving it should have been a ‘no-brainer’.
“It was definitely something that was worth exploring,” her said. “But majority rules and the majority of councillors voted that it wasn’t beneficial to the community.”
Definitely won’t be coming to your shire we will take our money to councils that allow freedom camping ; we may not want to all be on top of each other in busy caravan parks but we would still be spending money to help other businesses that need it
That’s ok, we’ll bypass Mossman. Usually if we stay a few days we’d spend $300/$400 on food and fuel. Obviously Mossman doesn’t need the money.
Have you looked at this from both sides.
Some RV owners are on a smaller budget, stay at park means the only other money spent is mainly groceries.
Have a RV Park ( 48 hrs stopover) money goes to a lot more places.
We stay at mostly parks, so this won’t affect me. It does annoy me WHEN caravan parks think of only themselves with these decisions.
Other businesses would like tourist $’s as well
We have stayed at Wonga Beach and loved it but would prefer to stay at an RV Park in Mossman. When would a survey of Caravan Park owners return any other decision??? The Mayor had it right!
Most RV camp sites are small so I can’t see a hand full of caravan staying there for a small amount of time will not put a hole in the caravan parks pocket. In popular areas, the council rates are extremely high, so if the council reduces their rates a bit it might be a different story. I know of one small caravan park close to a beach is paying over $45,000.00 per year.
Caravan parks make a lot of money from their cabins/chalets, whatever you want to call them. The cabins are built or relocated to the prime spots, usually the beach. Caravanners/ RVers get the crap spots among the permanent ghetto, with ageing and dilapidated ablution blocks, some of which are bloody well disgusting. Caravanners are charged a premium for what, about $3/day for power, yes do the maths. I call b/s about covid sending parks broke. We all have to pay a price and suffer at times, so suck it up park owners and do the hard yards like the rest of us. I could go on, ad nauseum, and yes we have been caravanning full time for 10 years.
Firstly with regard the pandemic … 18 months with continuous lockdowns and zero income is not bs. The rent, rates, water, insurances, electricity gas and all the other bills dont’ stop even when the income stream does.
As for “charging a premium” with electricity (supposedly only $3 a night) … this simply again ignores the real cost of providing the facilities. Anyone who thinks the average smaller caravan park operators are making a killing and gouging the market is a sign of someone who doesn’t know what they are talking about, and who in reality are not prepared a ‘fair’ price … they want to have if for free by having their costs subsidized by the local council.
The effects of the pandemic has affected EVERYone in one way or another. And more than $$’s. Cara park owners are only a one of many. It’s awful having to pay vast sums for facilities which many travellers don’t want or need; change your focus for a different traveller and you may do bette.r Fortunately for us, there are other places nearby more suited. I’m glad to spend my money in those towns.
Robert, you are absolutely spot on. I could not ad anything more to your post except to say, well done & thought out mate. I spent 3.5 Mths in Qld in 2021 and yo sum up that time we spent in Van Parks, absolutly ripped blind by their fees for, as you state, 3-4 $ a night max for power & water. We also found that we would book ahead to ensure our Caravan size fitted our site & a lot of times we were put in spots where we could not put our Awning out! Dam discracefull. Shame on the Caravan Parks that have done this.
Very short sighted by the council. Need to take a leaf out Kimba SA. Talk to the Mayor there and see what he says about a Donation RV Park and how much $ come into the town per week!! I dare you!!
The age old debate around bureaucracy and capitalism wielding their big stick over the greater good of the community, travelers of all persuasions have the right to make a choice between supporting these dictator run councils or making the choice to spend their travelling dollars in towns that have a greater vision of what he’s good for the whole community.
What a bloody narrow minded Mob CP parks are
Not having a free RV stopover in Mossman will probably make very little difference to the town.
The notion that RVers travel around splashing cash in all these smaller locations is a fairy tale.
Most people traveling around that area would have done their shopping in a large supermaket in Cairns where prices are cheaper.
You can’t expect everything in life to be free.
Caravan park owners think they are the only ones to consider .
What about all the other family businesses in town……bakery, fuel, groceries, butcher…who will miss out….
Will just by pass Mossman on our upcoming trip…
Caravan park too greedy
Caravan parks employ people from the town they live in. Those same people spend their money at the bakery, petrol stations, grocery store, butchers…… at the end of the day, it is doubtful that people bypassing the town does much to the bottom line..
Have a look at the price the Big 4 in Port Douglas charges for a night. You need a second job to stay there, well out of reach of most seniors.
Your spot on Tom. On our trip last year, 3.5 Mths in Qld Caravsn Parks, & could count on one hand the parks that provided clean amenities, adequate bin service, which I believe to be the absolute basics!
Yes Tom you’re spot on. $66 per night certainly is expensive. We normally don’t consider staying at any Big 4 parks because of their exorbitant prices. It’s called greed not need.
Many caravan park owners are competely clueless about the traveling public and they base their decisions/opinions on that cluelessness!
They are apparently unaware that there are several types of ‘campers’:
Their closed mindedness means that they will never get money from the second group of people AND more importantly, OTHER businesses in their area, like cafes, supermarkets, fuel stations, attractions will also never get money from them either! Their selfishness doesn’t show much interest in being community minded!
Their closed mindedness also means that there is a large portion of group three who will now bypass them because of their objection and those parks won’t get their money either!
I wonder if these selfish park owners are aware that their business type is the ONLY type of business in Australia that can influence councils to try to FORCE consumers to buy their product?
Perhaps those parks who object to freedom camping should consider changng tack and do what every other type of business in Australia does and must do in order to succeed, and try to ATTRACT consumers to buy their product instead of being so obstructive to freedom camping.
Many places in Australia have already discovered that their entire community has benefited hugely by providing freedom camping!
Sorry but they are not the only business type to influence councils and force consumers to buy their product. Many take away’s in smaller country towns have blocked the liked of Macca’s,KFC ect setting up in town. Not to mention IGA, food works eat have stopped Woolies, coles opening in places also. I am sure there are many others also.
Mossman definitely won’t be seeing us then! Full time travellers (retirees) like us can’t afford the exorbitant prices caravan parks are now charging, in light of the Covid international border closures and the boom in caravan travel. Sure they took a knock during Covid, but many would have received Govt subsidies to help carry them through but now a lot of them are just gouging. This is very shortsighted on their part because once the Int borders open back up caravanning will mostly settle back to pre-Covid numbers and people will remember which CP’s NOT to return to.
Won’t be visiting Mossman then, they obviously don’t want our money either
Why should be pay so much for power and water for a night, when we don’t even use there facilities like pool and playgrounds, we are talkin grey nomads aren’t we?
So we will buy our food and fuel else where
Caravan parks jam us in like sardines and very seldom in the best spots. I hate the fact that in can hear my neighbours break wind.
And if you are on a budget these parks are often the budget breaker.
Cant believe they would turn away RV’s that would bring in the said money into the area. Caravan Park greed. Will bypass Mossman.
I live full-time in my caravan,I have no income due to poor health and do not stay at caravan parks due to cost for in some cases very poor facilities.
I am fully self contained and would be happy to pay $5 a night for a place to park without the use of said facilities but the parks are not interested in evolving and getting to grips with the new style of traveling public that only want a place to park.if they use their brains and listen to what people now want and change their business model to how people are now traveling they won’t go broke by giving poor value for money.
And shame on the council for ignoring the survey that was 94% in favour of the stopover.
We are not coming to your shire because the caravan parks tell the councils what to do and also the caravan parks charge a arm and a leg for the privelidge to stay in that park with hardly any room to move.Have a good life.
Oh dear!!!
Competition in a free-enterprise community!
Nobody stopped a hamburger shop opening
up near the fish’n chips shop!
When is this BS going to stop?
Caravan parks are overpriced a nd always want free camping or cheap RV parks stopped, but it doesn’t stop them putting in heaps of cabins and taking business off motels, apparently that’s quite ok
Well just drive on through we don’t use parks so another town will like our money
Do some research into WHO owns these big overpriced parks ..then start refusing to buy from them.
One of them is well know identity with superannuation investments and the most expensive services to motoring public.
Another well.. look it up, their opposition has just as good stock and supply.. oh and actual customer service in store.
Like many say, take off the blinkers and cater for the new style of customers, instead of trying to control every angle. Actually when providing service.. many will come, but when the greed takes over you shut the door and constrict your earnings.
I’d still shop local to support my needs, though my needs are not for golden arches or big jumping pillows.
Would compile a summary of expenditure in towns to councils, letting them know stayed elsewhere
as then councils actually know first hand how much the greedy parks have missed, maybe include copy to caravan parks ..then they just may get the message.. Yes I know… pigs don’t fly.
On a disability pensioner is not sustainable to use caravan parks at the rates they are charging. Besides I perfer to be support more than a caravan park. Unfortunately I will just bypass theses places. Besides there are better places to visit than mossman port Douglas cairns area. I am a gray nomad not a tourist.
Just looked on big4 site, glenngary.
2 nights midweek with power 112 dollars, 92 dollars without.
No wonder they opposed the RV stopover.
Well said Gareth they definitely won’t get any of my money. How do they get off charging that money, when they probably dont even use sanitation blocks in the Mens urinals!!
Would just like to say that in a lot of cases those who use the RV parks are not likely to use the caravans parks anyway and move through instead of staying and leaving a few dollars.
From my experience with the Mossman area, it is full of “greenies” who oppose anything and everything unless one is a “local”. I will take my business elsewhere and day trip only. The Tablelands is a better stayover for my RV.
We have now stayed twice in the Mossman Caravan Park and Memorial Pool and WILL NOT STAY THERE EVER AGAIN as the permanents there are noisey drunks that believe they have all the rights and as travellers we have none!
Shame as the staff are fantastic and try the best.
Another caravan park north of Port Douglas would have been a great idea but was knocked on the head by non RV councillors obviously.