Works have begun on the northern end of the Apollo Bay Recreation Reserve, to improve the visitor experience and introduce a high and low season. Regular visitors say it's out of touch with what the reserve is meant to be and will limit the number of affordable campsites in the town.
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00:00This was Heather Anor's view almost every weekend for seven years.
00:08Her little patch of serenity on the Great Ocean Road is now just a memory.
00:14It was like a big family once everyone was there, especially in holiday times, everybody came.
00:20She's one of many disgruntled Apollo Bay campers, dozens of annual site holders
00:25who were forced out of the recreation reserve in April last year to make room for upgrades.
00:31The Great Ocean Road Parks and Coast Authority took over 185 campsites in 2020.
00:38Works on a new master plan began last month, promising glamping and an improved visitor experience
00:44while cutting the number of sites to 128 in the peak season, dropping to 48 sites in the low season.
00:53If you keep changing everything, there's going to be nothing for those people
00:57that can't afford to go to big falls or other caravan parks, and the price will keep going up.
01:03Local businesses are already feeling the pinch.
01:07The lolly shop lost up to $15,000 in sales since annual sites were removed.
01:13It doesn't help with business. We've lost staff with people being removed
01:18removed from permanent vacation homes that they've had for quite a number of years.
01:23The town has a permanent population of less than 2,000, ballooning to about 15,000 in the warmer months.
01:31The reserve is the only public caravan park in Apollo Bay,
01:35occasionally providing temporary accommodation for essential workers.
01:40Despite community backlash, the authority says the changes will bring a much needed upgrade to the reserve,
01:46making it more inclusive by increasing accessibility for campers,
01:51with works in the northern end due for completion mid this year.
01:55There is a need for upgrade, and so we support the investment that Gorkapa proposed here,
02:03to provide better facilities and to provide a range of accommodation options.
02:08A historic campsite reimagined, but leaving some out in the cold.