THE FRONT BOOT
Kershaw Gardens in Rockhampton, Qld.
KERSHAW CAMPING KIBOSHED
RV CAMPING AT KERSHAW GARDENS IN
ROCKHAMPTON, QLD, IS NO LONGER ALLOWED.
On November 15, the Planning and Environment
Court ruled against Rockhampton Regional
Council, finding that the use of the site for RV
camping was unlawful under the Planning Act.
In late 2017, Caravan Parks Association of
Queensland (Caravanning Queensland) launched
the proceedings against the council on the basis
“that the use of an area known as Kershaw
Gardens at Moores Creek Road, Park Avenue,
Rockhampton, for free camping was unlawful
and constituted a development offence under the
Planning Act 2016 (Qld) due to the absence of an
effective development permit for the use”.
Caravanning Queensland’s general manager
of parks, Michelle Weston, said the decision
provided certainty to the association’s members
in the Rockhampton region.
“The association was always of the view that the
accommodation use of Kershaw Gardens went
beyond the ordinary use of a park,” Ms Weston
said. “The fact that the accommodation offered
was provided free of charge was detrimentally
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impacting the business of our members; in light
of the continuation of this unlawful development
and in the interest of our members, including
local caravan park operators, we were left with
little alternative but to take legal action.”
The ruling has been met with concern by the
Australian Caravan Club. “The ACC absolutely
respects the decision of the court but our call is
to ensure that RV travellers have a freedom of
choice in options available to stay in Queensland
destinations,” club chairman Craig Humphrey said.
Among the club’s concerns, which it raised with
the Queensland government prior to the ruling,
was “the inability of many caravan parks to cater
for bigger rigs and fifth wheelers”, and “issues
with fatigue management if there's nowhere for
RV travellers to pull up and accessing caravan
parks at certain times of the year can be difficult”.
The court has given Rockhampton Regional
Council until February 15 to stop camping at
Kershaw Gardens. The council must also remove
all associated signage.