Patricia Warren, Brunswick Heads
The exhibited Plans of Management (POM) for Massy Greene and Ferry caravan parks focus on boundaries. Once set, they give the go ahead to up-market the accommodation mix to make these prime assets on the Brunswick River.
Getting amendments to the POMs has depended on locals’ fearless determination to keep critical slivers of foreshore land outside the commercial area of the caravan parks for general use.
The Massy Greene POM may have community support. However, not Ferry caravan park.
The critical issue here is the grassed foreshore. This was identified as illegally encroached land in 1988 and was excluded from the caravan park by Council in 2012. The North Coast Accommodation Trust took the issue to the then-minister for local government. There hasn’t been any resolution on the exclusion of this area to date. So these POMS are attempting, by default, to resolve that issue.
The grassed area varies in width from approx 20m to 30m along the Brunswick River. The exhibited POM intends to reduce this for public use to 7m. It effectively reduces the grassed area by over 55 per cent, not increasing it as claimed at Q11 on the feedback sheet.
Don’t respond to the draft POMs yet. Community groups will soon be sent thoughts for your consideration when giving feedback.
Given the recent changes in the Crown Lands Act, which provides for the sale of public lands, it is important that people take this opportunity to respond to the POMs with due consideration to how they want the foreshores of the Brunswick River best used in the future.
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