Camping for events only

By Kirra Livingstone

THE Sunshine Coast Council is reviewing the suitability of camping at the Beerwah Sportsground as local retailers suffer the impacts of a decline of ‘drive-thru’ tourists. It follows the cancellation of a contract that would have allowed daily camping.

Division 1 Councillor and Deputy Mayor, Rick Baberowski, said that it was acknowledged camping provided flow-on benefits to the town, “but also that there has been a long history of public safety concerns and therefore oscillating tension between (camping and sportsground events) over many years”. “That’s why the CEO has called for a review,” he added. Beerwah Hair and Beauty Owner Jini Shah said the closure of the campground had resulted in a 30 per cent decline in revenue. “Having camping at the Beerwah Sportsground is good for everybody, it’s good for cafes, restaurants, even Woolies down the road,” she said.

She also feared it may exacerbate retail closures in an already difficult economic environment.

“It makes us wonder if we are the next business to go, we are facing a problem as our business has been really slow,” she said.

Glasshouse Country Chamber of Commerce President, Jenny Broderick, said the impact on businesses in Beerwah was detrimental and driving tourists away.

“The ongoing issues surrounding the closure of camping at Beerwah Sportsground is causing significant financial disruption to our local businesses,” she said. “The inability to host drive tourism in Beerwah town centre means that people will bypass Glasshouse Country all together, and go to a place they are welcomed.

“Businesses on Simpson Street are seeing a decrease in sales as a result of the closure.

There is significant, documented evidence showing that when people come and stay at the Sportsground caravan park, they spend money in our local community.

“They go and buy lunch, have tea and coffee, get their hair done, they use the services available to them. If they are now bypassing Beerwah, our community misses out on all of that.” Jenny added that Glasshouse Country was already lacking in accommodation options in general in order to allow tourists to stay in our area for a longer period of time. “We need more accommodation for our travellers and particularly for people who want to pull up in their campervans and caravans,” she said.

“We lack facilities for them to do that in Beerwah.

“We are a drive tourism area, however, right now we don’t have sufficient facility for the caravan and RV campers we could potentially host. They are choosing not to stay in Beerwah and moving on to the next available Caravan and RV Friendly town. We need a plan, and right now, it doesn’t appear like there is one.”

Cr Baberowski said his ongoing focus was to ensure “the sportsground continues to provide the right standards of service for the community and offer a safe and secure home to the long standing community groups and their diverse members”.