Free camping row goes to court

A POPULAR free parking spot for caravanners is under threat, in a move that could have implications for similar sites across the state.

• Campsite to become car park

THE Caravan Parks Association is trying to stop a council offering free camping for tourists with recreation vehicles, caravans or camper vans, in a court test case.

If successful, it could affect free camping offered by councils or businesses in other parts of the state.

Grey nomads and tourists in caravans, RVs and campervans have been allowed to park for free, for up to 48 hours, beside Rockhampton’s Kershaw Gardens for the past three years.

The Caravan Parks Association of Queensland is now taking Rockhampton Regional Council and the State Government to the Planning and Environment Court to close it down.

Rockhampton’s commercial caravan and camping grounds claim they have been detrimentally affected by the free camping site in the centre of the city.

Fully self-contained vehicles have been allowed free parking on land which is part of a State Government reserve and zoned as open space.

But a lawyer for the association said in a court application the area was being unlawfully used as a tourist park without a development permit for that use.

The lawyer said the unlawful use had been going on for three years, despite the association expressing its concerns in letters to the council.

Brian and Yvonne McKenzie have used the Rockhampton free camping site a couple of times, as a stopping point while towing their caravan to Mackay.

Brian and Yvonne McKenzie have used the Rockhampton free camping site a couple of times, as a stopping point while towing their caravan to Mackay.

“It’s nice and handy to town. There would have been about 20 vehicles when we were here in September, mostly caravans,’’ Mr McKenzie, 69, of Eagleby, said.

“We’re on a pension, so we’ve got to stay free wherever we can. Caravan parks can charge about $35 a night.’’

Six of the association’s members run caravan parks in the Rockhampton area, paying insurance, rates and costs of meeting regulations.

A private town planner, who inspected the free site on a Wednesday night in November, said in a court document that he saw 15 caravans and recreational vehicles parked there.

“The accommodation of caravans and recreational vehicles for tourists to stay in the park up to 48 hours is highly unusual in an urban context,’’ Steven Roberts of Cardno said in an affidavit.

The association’s general manager Michelle Weston said the issue was about compliance with zoning laws, not about the numbers of vehicles using a free site.

“It’s about the fact that the site is being used in a way that is not in line with planning permission. It’s not designated for that purpose,’’ Ms Weston said.

She compared it to a pie cart setting up in front of a bakery that had to comply with food handling and safety regulations.

Ms Weston said there were other similar free sites around the state where councils were operating patches of land that did not meet requirements for tourist parks.

She said the association had explained their concerns to other councils, with varied responses, and now was taking its first legal action.

Rockhampton Regional Council said it could not comment.