Illegal camping is testing the patience of a beachside town’s residents, who claim van dwellers are overrunning car parks, ignoring signage, dumping rubbish and crowding out locals.
Local Philip Wrench and the Peregian Family and Friends community group said semi-permanent camps had taken hold at popular beach entrances at Peregian Beach.
A Noosa Council spokesperson said authorities were aware of residents’ concerns about a “recent rise in illegal camping” there.
The spokesperson said council was clamping down on illegal parking across the shire and there were plans for further patrols and “future joint enforcement action” with Queensland Police at Peregian Beach.
But Mr Wrench bemoaned the situation in the area, particularly off Peregian Esplanade at north Peregian.
“Our local car park has been a joke for years now,” he told Sunshine Coast News.
“I don’t understand how council can fine shoppers for overstaying while spending money in the local shops but can’t fine gypsy campers forming large groups of 20 to 40 free campers staying for months at a time.
“Locals can’t even get a beach car park when the beach conditions are good and we all collectively clean up their rubbish blowing around the car park … and (they) wash off under the beach shower while standing in washed-out food scraps. Not to mention broken tables, beds and chairs left for council to pick up, and shower tidies hanging off the shower.”
Mr Wrench said some community members were so fed up they had started discussing ways to push back.
“We have had zero success from Noosa Council and locals have thought about going on strike regarding rate payments until our services are restored,” he said.
The Peregian Family and Friends Association also lamented the situation.
“We are seeing continued use of beachfront car parks by campers,” the group stated.
“This is despite clear signage that overnight camping is illegal.”
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The PFAF identified hotspots in the town.
They said the car parks at north Peregian and Victory Park in south Peregian were “popular congregation points”.
“As this is mid-winter, the number of campers is fewer than during the warmer months, when illegal camping spreads along Peregian Esplanade in north Peregian and Pitta and Piper streets in south Peregian,” they said.
The group said the visitors’ long-term presence created problems.
“Some campers set up semi-permanent camps with annexes and cooking facilities, while others just seem to use these areas for overnight accommodation,” they said.
“The main impacts on the community are inability to find parking close to the beach, dumping of rubbish and food scraps and – where camping extends outside the car parks to streets along the dune areas – use of the dunes as open air toilets.”
The PFAF believed there was an “upsurge” in illegal camping across the shire and more should be done to counter it.
“With lack of visible enforcement by Noosa Council – of the prohibition on camping on these areas – numbers seem to have increased in the past couple of years,” the group stated.
“Council has previously announced a zero-tolerance policy towards illegal camping but evidence of this on the ground seems sparse.
“At our recent forum on traffic management, the deputy mayor cited as one impediment the use of social media by a cohort of illegal campers to shift preferred areas of congregation to avoid council crackdowns.”
The PFAF stated that it could not speak on behalf of all community members.
“We suspect that most residents of Peregian Beach would like to see stronger enforcement by council. There are, however, some residents who see little difference between today’s phenomenon of illegal camping and how their earlier generation holidayed on the rough along Australia’s beaches,” they said.
“Moreover, the steady reduction in public camping grounds in the more affluent beachside townships may be leaving budget vacationers with little alternative.
“Also mentioned as a contributing factor is Australia’s homeless crisis, though no evidence has been seen that a significant proportion of the cohort of illegal campers are completely homeless.”
The council spokesperson acknowledged that illegal camping was an issue at Peregian Beach and stated that council parking officers and police would issue fines where necessary.
“Council is aware of residents’ concerns about a recent rise in illegal camping at Peregian Beach and this information is helping to inform our ongoing patrols and future joint enforcement action with Queensland Police Service,” they said.
The spokesperson said council was intent on curbing illegal camping across the region and pointed to its recent blitz at Noosa Spit, Noosa Junction and Noosa National Park.
“Our officers, working with Queensland Police Service, issued more than 30 fines for illegal camping at other locations around the shire (on the weekend of June 30-July 1), and further similar operations are planned for other problem areas,” they said.
Council has conducted several car parking crackdowns at popular tourist spots in recent years, including introducing a tow-away zone, issuing fines and imposing a time parking trial.
The spokesperson said council was also committed to helping the homeless.
“Where people living in vehicles are not holidaymakers but local people experiencing homelessness, our staff exercise compassion and will assist where possible with referrals to state support services that may be able to help with temporary shelter and other support,” they said.
