No more free camping at popular lakeside spot, so how much will you pay?

‘You need a charge because if you don’t have a charge, it turns into a shanty town’: Deputy Mayor

The days of free camping at Lake Proserpine are coming to an end. Picture: Supplied.

The days of free camping at Lake Proserpine, aka Peter Faust Dam, will soon be over, with Whitsunday Regional Council on Wednesday approving the move to a pay-per-use model from July this year.

What’s happening?

From July 1, campers will pay nightly rate for a campsite at the popular lakeside spot, plus additional fees for the use of showers and barbecues.

Figures discussed at Wednesday’s council meeting in Bowen were in the range of $6 to $10 per night, but the council is yet to officially decide on the pricing model.

Councillors supported the idea of a discounted rate for families, but this decision will also have to wait for a future council meeting.

The site will be managed by a caretaker, employed by council on a $130,000, 12-month contract.

The longer term plan is to develop new facilities including cabins, powered sites, recreation areas and other amenities. But council needs to secure $2.5m in external grant funding to achieve this in the next five years.

Why pay?

The council says introducing a fee will improve conditions at the campground, which has become a target for vandals and in turn a costly facility to maintain. Fees would also help pay for essential sewerage and water treatment upgrades, according to council documents.

Cr John Collins, a Proserpine local, said introducing a fee was “the only way to go”.

“We’ve had a good run, but there’s no such thing as free; someone has to pay for it,” he said.

“Part of the beauty of the site is its remoteness, but that remoteness is also what’s costing us a lot of money – it is getting vandalised.”

Cr Mike Brunker agreed “you need a charge because if you don’t have a charge, it turns into a shanty town and that becomes a cost on ratepayers.”

WRC’s Chief Operating Officer Aviation and Tourism Craig Turner said developing the campground was “not about competing with commercial operators or making millions of dollars” but about diversifying the Whitsundays’ tourism offering.

A business plan prepared by Balfour Consulting estimates developing the site could deliver up to $7.95m a year in economic benefit to Proserpine and surrounds through increased visitation, with the potential to create an extra 58 jobs.

Will there be mobile reception?

Yes.

The council has reached an agreement with Telstra and water service provider Sunwater (which oversees Peter Faust dam) to install a mobile booster to increase coverage to the campsite, which should be operational by July 1.

Should there be any problems with the booster, the council has organised to install an NBN satellite as a ‘Plan B’ to ensure, at a minimum, emergency calls can be made.

Acting Director Adam Hagy said coverage would not extend over the entire lake area but would satisfy the requirements of those in the immediate vicinity of the boat ramp and camping area, including the use of EFTPOS to pay site fees.

Originally published as No more free camping at popular lakeside spot, so how much will you pay?