Fury over council's plan to shut down camping tradition at Aussie beach: 'It's just wrong'
A bitter dispute has erupted between a NSW council and dozens of families who've been told they can no longer camp at their beloved waterfront spot.
Camping families who've been staying on the waterfront of a secluded Australian community for decades are set to lose their right to do so as council looks to accomodate a rising number of day visitors to the picturesque beach.
Clarence Valley Council is pushing ahead with controversial plans to scrap 34 campsites on or near the water's edge at Brooms Head, 130km south of Byron Bay, arguing campers, who return year after year in a holiday tradition, have overcrowded the foreshore with large 4WDs, RVs and caravans.
The council argues the booming industry has led to the disappearance of the "simple camping experience", and all the vehicles and equipment with the modern-day experience are simply "not suitable" for Brooms Head's waterfront. It has also flagged concerns over the environmental impacts of wastewater from campers at the site, which is on crown land and managed by the council.
Council plans on creating further open space for visitors in a move it says will "return the foreshore to the broader community", arguing there has been a long-term view that there needs to be "a greater balance" in the area.
But Ken Shephard, who has been using the site with his family for 38 years, spanning four generations, says council's reasoning doesn't add up and they've failed to give a justifiable explanation for the abrupt change.
"We've had no input, no consultation... it's just wrong. We can't get an honest answer," Shephard, spokesperson for the Brooms Campers and Caravanners Association, told Yahoo News Australia.
Shephard argues there is plenty of community space in Brooms Head to enjoy, and the scores of families who use the site bring in thousands of dollars for the local community.
"Over Christmas my daughter was down at the site and I got her to photograph the community areas. At no stage was it full. There is plenty of room for more visitors any day of the week," he said.
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Confusion over council's right to remove camping spots
At the centre of the disagreement is a 1987 council motion which said sites were to be removed once the camping rights granted to visitors, which aren't to be transferred to others, expired.
In 2021, 16 sites were removed, with Clarence Valley Council now again referencing it to shut down a further 34 camping spots. However, Shephard says the motion was not intended for these sites and believes a Plan of Management in place for Brooms Head prevents such a change being made, making council's actions improper. Council stresses the move is within their legal rights.
Clarence Valley Council general manager Laura Black said it was fulfilling the “overdue” 1987 Maclean Shire Council agreement to phase out foreshore camping sites, and the transitioning of the campsites was in full council compliance with legislative requirements under their approval to operate the site, The Northern Star reported.
Furthermore, she said the community desires more open space and picnic facilities for day visitors that aligns with the original intent of Maclean Shire Council and supporting existing draft plans of management.
Last year in April, council had informed families using the sites they were no longer deemed fit for caravans, and could only accomodate camper trailers and tents. Shephard told Yahoo families went out and spent thousands of dollars to comply with the change, only to be now informed all bookings will cease altogether from May this year.
Despite widespread anger from those who use the camping sites, council continues to press forward with its decision and moved last week to explain its position, stressing those who use the spots to be removed are free to apply for other sites in Brooms Head that will remain.
But that is of no comfort to the families who have been going to the site for years.
“Brooms Head is the sole reason I moved my family from the Southern Highlands to the North Coast,” camper Jethro Rockett told The Northern Star. “It’s where my partner and I first met — it’s where so much of our history is embedded.”
Council's move does however have its supporters. "We don't need caravan parks on the beach. I say best decision made in a long time," one person expressed online.
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