After a recent meeting of Brunswick Heads business owners and locals concerned about unauthorised camping/parking in the town, councillors passed a motion at last week’s meeting addressing the issue.
Of particular concern is the Fawcett Street/Mona Lane precinct and around the boat ramp/harbour. Residents and business owners say that ‘van-lifers’ are defecating, leaving rubbish and even using the water and electricity from the homes of residents. The meeting on May 28 – held by the town’s Chamber of Commerce – also heard that police and Council compliance teams were not doing enough.
The motion by Cr Michael Lyon differentiated between non-locals choosing to live in their vehicles as ‘van-lifers’, and locals who are ‘experiencing homelessness and living in their vehicles’.
The motion says, ‘Council is working towards an emergency housing village to help to address this issue, and compliance staff will continue to exercise compassion to locals genuinely experiencing homelessness’.
While acknowledging Council’s limited powers, the motion, ‘Seeks urgent support from all state government agencies that own or manage land in Brunswick Heads, including Crown Lands, NPWS, Transport for NSW and Reflections to work collaboratively to identify and implement enforcement approaches with appropriate resourcing to patrol the areas’.
Councillors are also asking for a staff report ‘on further options to discourage unauthorised camping/parking in Brunswick Heads, including looking at closing hotspot streets to parking for a longer time than the current 1am-6am, other than to those with residential permits’.
Police support
The motion ‘thanks NSW Police for their recent commitment to support Council’s attempts to address these issues’, asks for an ‘update on the progress of enforcement in Brunswick Heads in three months’ time,’ and, ‘seeks a report on options, costs and potential funding sources for additional compliance measures or requirements’.
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