Campers to overflow on common

Alex de Vos
Residents have demanded Great Ocean Road Coast Committee dump plans to turn Torquay Common into a part-time camping ground.
Surf Coast Community and Ratepayers Association’s Lyn Smith said residents opposed “commercial enterprises” encroaching on the town’s public open spaces.
She told GORCC to keep campers off the grass.
“Torquay is already lacking a lot of public open space and I’m in favour of not letting GORCC use Torquay Common for the overflow of casual campers,” Ms Smith said.
“It’s an area where people can run their dogs and the Rotary club has spent quite a lot of time tree-planting.
“I don’t think it should be used for camping.”
Torquay Concerned Campers Committee chairman Russell Harper said he had no problem with the use of the common as a casual campsite.
“This not really going to affect us,” Mr Harper said.
“I can understand that it’s going to impact ratepayers and locals but it’s not something we disagreed on.”
Great Ocean Road Coast Committee executive officer David Clarke said the area had been used as a permanent camp site in the late 1990s.
“It’s something that’s been done before but this time it would only be used over a few weeks,” Mr Clarke said.
The committee had “identified” a “small part” of the common that “would be great to fill peak season demands”, he said.
“We wrote to camping groups seeking feedback and I know ratepayers have some concerns but we think it has some merit.
“We’ll protect the vegetation and ensure there is no impact on it.”