A massive crackdown on free campers in the New South Wales town of Yamba has backfired spectacularly with huge numbers of cars belong to residents slapped with overnight parking fines.
On Ocean Street, residents awoke to find every single vehicle in the area had got a parking ticket on its windscreen. According to witnesses, the council came along on Wednesday and installed parking signs forbidding parking between 12.30am and 5am … and then issued the parking tickets without warning last night.
“The parking inspector must have come along at 4am to hand out the tickets,” one ‘victim’, Shelley Neville, told the Daily Examiner.
Clarence Valley Council has now said it will waive parking fines as long as it hears the right excuse.
The council’s general manager, Ashley Lindsay, told the Daily Examiner that the people issued with fines last night were not the targets of the crackdown.
“In accordance with a strategy the council approved cracking down on freedom camping, council resolved to trial measures at Angourie’s Green Point, Turners Beach parking area, along Pippi Beach and in Ocean St,” he said. “The signs in Ocean St were erected yesterday and we happened to have two rangers out last night checking on that area.”
He said the rangers working last night were not the usual ones deployed in Yamba and that more than 500 warning letters had been sent out before Christmas.
“It was not our intention to fine the residents for parking across the street from where they’re staying,” he said. “It might be the only place they can park if there’s no off-street parking.”
Mr Lindsay told the Daily Examiner that the council was forced to use the No Parking signs to carry out its strategy.
“We can’t put up a sign on the street saying no camping, but we can restrict parking,” he said. “We have taken note of these issues and we’ll look to refine the strategy when the council’s Working Group on Camping meets, probably some time in February.”
It is understood that some sort of residents’ identification will be one of the options on the table.
Will these councils never learn that the bulk of these campers are back Packers, and they do not pay fines as they have left the country before the council can do anything.
Nice Yamba. Guessing you do not need the tourist trade there. Hope the businesses there can cope with the drop in trade that will be the fall out from this. It is not even that you have removed the free camping. It is the dictatorship. When you start taking away peoples rights and choices it does not end well. All I can say is good luck with that. .
Shame on the CVC councilors, some of these councilors do not have a brain in their head, just ask the rate payers of the CVC.
Extract from article
“It was not our intention to fine the residents for parking across the street from where they’re staying,” he said. “It might be the only place they can park if there’s no off-street parking.”
MMMM – i do not know the area, but if somebody was visiting and staying in alternative accommodation and parked their caravan where the cars were parked, would they receive a fine???
Great work Council…..
With Councils shutting down freedom camping, a lot of tourist dollars will not be spent in the area. For a lot of travellers, regular shopping stops will be made in towns more supportive.
Another place we won’t be stopping. We get the hint that you do not need our money.
Wow, revenue raising or an exercise in stupidity. Not only will it cost $$ in admin costs to waive the incorrect fines, the fines handed out to foreign backpackers in their hired wizzbangs will go unpaid.
So massive admin costs for no gain. This council has a knee jerk reaction instead of setting aside an area for the stealth campers to go they punish everyone including the local businesses.
Another area that’ll be a no go zone for us not spending our money where we’re not welcome
Yes they will receive a fine Alana,I have a yacht on a permanent maritime services mooring in yamba also a motorhome that i cannot park overnight in that miserable little town whilst aboard my boat without risking a fine.
If there was trouble with parking, what were the rangers doing before ???