What a load of garbage Reflections Holiday Parks has dished out in last week’s Echo full page propaganda advertisement, under the heading ‘Working Together in Brunswick Heads’.
For years, Reflections has deliberately refused to engage with the community and residents groups and rarely responds to emails.
The current development taking place in the southern end of the Terrace Reserve is another classic example.
No plans were ever available to view by the community and there was zero ability to negotiate the development, as nobody knew it was happening.
The first the community became aware was when Reflections organised a street meeting for around 12 Terrace residents and gave them a week’s notice that the whole reserve opposite their homes would be fenced off and there would be a lot of truck movements and building noise for the next few months.
It turns out Council gave approval for ten ‘camping tents’ in December 2024.
There was no ‘working together,’ as Reflections claimed exemption from public exhibition.
Reflections’ position that they are taking up ten of the permitted 26 camping sites is deceptive. They can’t get more than these ten ‘mega tents’ in without violating a court order in relation to protection of the adjoining Coastal Cyprus Pines.
Their claims of generosity in preserving a section of the park to reforestation are questionable. All holiday parks must legally have a certain percentage of ‘green space’ and this is the only green area in the whole holiday park!
There is also a good deal of concern in the paragraph ‘Walking Trail Access’.
Amendments to the 2014 plan of management (PoM) provided for an unfettered public walkway along the entire riverbank. From the footbridge to opposite Nana Street, it was to be 3m, plus 7m wide, reducing to 3m, plus 4m in the southern precinct.
Reflections are now talking about ‘through’ the precinct. This is not a foreshore walkway.
So, which version, ‘through’ the precinct, or ‘along’ the foreshore is correct? Reference to its ‘deviation’ around the remaining seven long-term tenants is along the road and is a change to the PoM.
It will not address issues of non-compliance and positions the residents for claims against failure of a duty of care on a fast-eroding riverbank.
Reference to the war memorial concern is perverse! Rehabilitation and preservation of the WW1 Memorial Trees has been paramount for years!
Now Reflections merely ‘understands’ and states, ‘if there are elements of local history’, they ‘welcome respectful conversations’.
How about Reflections actually does ‘work together in Brunswick Heads’ instead of spending thousands of dollars on ads just claiming they do?
Sean O’Meara, Brunswick Heads
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
