The view towards Corrigans Beach from the air. The future management of the beach reserve, and the Observation Point reserve, is set to be decided by Eurobodalla Shire Council when it votes on a draft plan on 26 August. Photo: Jordon Martin.
A controversial proposal for South Coast reserves is coming back before a council, but without a plan for low-cost camping.
Eurobodalla Shire Council started work on a Plan of Management (PoM) for Hanging Rock (which includes the Corrigans Beach area) and Observation Point reserves in mid-2019, as well as a landscape masterplan.
The reserves are on the south-eastern foreshore of Batemans Bay, spanning the localities of Batehaven and Batemans Bay.
Since then, the plans’ development has included two rounds of community consultation, an online survey for residents, letterbox drops and other measures, before a draft version could be finalised.
When the draft POM and an associated masterplan were put out ahead of the vote on their adoption, the council received almost a dozen responses. Most of these were against the reserves being used for camping.
“Submissions objected to all forms of camping in relevant reserves and referenced in the draft plan, including short-term event-related, occasional and emergency camping,” the draft PoM states.
“Concerns identified in these submissions centred around two main themes – the impact of event-related camping on existing accommodation providers; and the community’s perceived concerns around [short-term] and emergency-related camping activities being extended to homelessness and potential antisocial behaviours resulting from this.”
Following the feedback, the plans were altered to pull back from allowing camping at the sites.
Under the amended proposal, there would only be camping as part of 24-hour security during events within the Hanging Rock and Corrigans Beach reserves.
This would mean that camping by event attendees and most other would-be campers wouldn’t be allowed in the area.
The proposed “emergency-related camping” was also clarified in the finalised document put before councillors, meaning it would only be allowed in emergencies (such as a natural disaster) and when the site was a designated emergency evacuation centre.
It would also not function as temporary accommodation for homeless people.
The PoM also notes that the council has abandoned a proposed pathway connecting Corrigans Reserve to the Observation Point stairs (this was featured in earlier versions of the document).
The draft PoM also contains an implementation plan with performance targets and measures, focusing on things such as building people’s use of the reserves for sport, growing visitor numbers to the area, protecting the natural and cultural elements and improving nearby infrastructure.
To meet those targets, the proposed actions include installing new sporting equipment and amenities, making sure the public knows about community spaces in the area, increasing event support infrastructure and formalising the viewing platform at Observation Point Reserve.
“There is a potential for the scale and intensity of use of the reserves, and parts of the respective spaces within, to increase over time,” according to the draft PoM.
The draft document also doesn’t rule out the use of the reserves for carnivals, markets, sporting activities and other events, while leases and licences can continue.
Eurobodalla Shire Council will vote on whether it adopts the draft plans at its meeting on 26 August.
The meeting will start at 12:30 pm, and the agenda (including the draft documents) is available on the council’s website.
