https://www.xxzza1.com
22.6 C
Newcastle

Happy campers all ‘round

SHARE

Campers far and wide welcomed the reopening of Williams River Holiday Park over the Easter and school holiday period.

Thirty-seven campsites, in addition to the 25 that had already been reactivated in the caravan park area, came back online just before the Easter long weekend.

The park had been closed since February while Dungog Shire Council worked to address “profound” safety and compliance issues, including a lack of fire hose reels and water taps.

The park also lacked the necessary approvals to operate at both a local government and Crown Lands level, meaning the council was unable to secure approvals to operate, also generating major insurance concerns.

Maitland’s Paul Tilden, whose growing convoy of family and friends has camped there every year for 14 years, told Newcastle Weekly he was pleased the council managed to pull it off in time for Easter.

“We had alternative accommodation at Gloucester booked just in case, but Dungog is perfect because of the lack of traffic and great location, so we’re glad we were able to get in,” he said.
“We also love to support the local businesses while we’re here [IGA, butcher, bakery, bowling club and pub], so it’s good news for them because the Dungog economy would’ve suffered without the holiday business.”

In a statement to Newcastle Weekly, a Dungog Shire Council spokesperson said, due to the park’s social and economic importance, “a significant proportion within the local community therefore reacted to the temporary closure with shock and some indignation”.

Mr Tilden admitted he was one of those people.

“I was a little bit up in arms about it because of how close it was to Easter,” he said.
“If it got to a point [of being non-compliant] where they had to shut it down, it shouldn’t have been allowed to get like that in the first place.
“The closure was sudden and it’s surprising we’d been camping there all those years without [fire hose reels and water taps].”

The spokesperson added the council “regretted the concern generated by its action but had no choice but to act in the way it did because the licensing, regulatory, safety and insurance issues were so profound”.

The council-operated park, whose day-to-day management was previously contracted to a husband and wife partnership, will now be looked after by a new management team directly employed by the council.

The 62 campsites that reopened is less than the 110 sites that had been approved prior to the previous consent elapsing some years ago, however, the council will release “a large number” of new sites during major events and consider other options for additional permanent capacity.

More stories:

More Stories

Newcastle Weekly

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Subscribe to Newcastle Weekly. News, Community, Lifestyle, Property delivered direct to your inbox! 100% Local, 100% Free.

You have Successfully Subscribed!