By DANE LILLINGSTONE
NON-commercial camping in the Southern Downs is in the process of a shake-up with two consecutive council general meetings deferring a final decision on an overflow policy.
The Southern Downs Regional Council resolved at the August meeting to adopt a low-cost commercial stance to camping in the Southern Downs.
A change has been on the cards for the Southern Downs in response to the findings of the Regional Camping Stakeholder Group (RCSG) who have been in place since July last year.
The RCSG was formed to investigate, develop and recommend a plan on how the Southern Downs would deal with issues around RV friendly status and non-commercial camping. With non-commercial camping on the rise, there is an increasing need to balance the playing field with commercial parks.
As part of their new proposed changes, the council will maintain the free camping options of Leyburn, Dalveen and Allora that are already in place in addition to improving the signage in these areas with information on caravan parks in the Southern Downs. This would involve working with commercial providers to assist with the content and cost.
There will be new signage for RV parking in central Stanthorpe, namely Rogers and Creek streets.
Also, pending approval, commercial caravan parks will be given an option to apply for low-cost, low-infrastructure camping options within their existing parks. This will also require a 24-month development approval with the potential of waived fees.
The overflow policy has been the contentious issue which has been at the centre of two failed attempts to come to a resolution in council.
An ‘overflow area’ is a designated area, approved by council, used for camping when the commercial parks are full.
These areas are particularly important for large events like the Warwick Rodeo and Stanthorpe’s Apple and Grape festival.
The finer details of the overflow policy are yet to be agreed on by the council. They were close to a decision, however the approaching Warwick Rodeo meant any change would need more time to be implemented.
The main issues that the council was looking at were getting the right balance between temporary overflow sites and commercial parks and who would be responsible for booking and maintaining the overflow areas.
Councillor Neil Meiklejohn is a part of the camping group.
“The parks had a strong view on whether (the overflow policy) should be activated,” he said.
Councillor Vic Pennisi said he would not be supporting the policy.
“I won’t support council providing camping grounds,” he said.
“If Visitor Information Centres are interested, they need to tell us.”
Council CEO David Keenan warned the council: “Remember enforcement, it will be very hard to enforce”.
In the end, mayor Peter Blundell posed a question to his councillors.
“What’s our next move?”
It was followed by complete silence.
The overflow policy has been deferred for discussion at a future meeting.
