For almost 20 years, Belinda Langley and her husband Brett have called a quiet, beachside caravan park on Queensland’s Capricorn Coast their home.
But now they, and the three other permanent residents at Keppel Sands Caravan Park, are being evicted to make way for a renovation to add a pool and mini-golf course.
The small tight-knit group have become more than just neighbours over the years, Langley said.
Every morning and afternoon, like clockwork, all five permanent residents gather together for a bit of a yarn.
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“It’s morning tea at 10am and afternoon drinks between 4pm and 5pm – every day,” she said.
“We’re family in the caravan park. It’s like breaking us up. It’s so hard to know that we are all going to be split apart,” she said.
Langley and her husband moved into Keppel Sands 19 years ago and were the managers of the park for 13 years.
Two other residents have been living in the caravan park even longer, for 29 years, Langley said.
At the beginning of July, the residents were told to attend a meeting with staff from Livingstone Shire Council.
“We had no idea what it was about,” Langley said.
“We all thought they were going to let us know that the rent was going up.”
But it was far worse news than that. The small group were told they will soon be losing their homes with no guarantee they will be able to return.
In a letter from the council, residents of the park were told the council had entered into a new lease with a company that would manage and operate the park.
The whole site will soon be closing for renovations and the residents have been given a three months’ notice to leave, with the park not due to reopen until the end of the year.
To help residents with the cost of relocating, the council has promised to provide each resident with the equivalent of three months rent at the park – around $2250.
The residents have been told they can re-apply to move back in when the park reopens, but Langley said she felt it was unlikely they would be accepted.
Langley said she and the other residents had been left bewildered and stressed out at the prospect of finding somewhere else to live.
“We thought this was going to be our forever home,” she said.
Langley said she had contacted every one of 10 local caravan sites on a list given to them by council; none of them had any vacancies for permanent residents or even accepted caravans of their size.
The couple currently pay $173 a week to live at the caravan park.
Langley, 63, works part time, while her husband is currently unable to work and is awaiting heart surgery. They would not be able to afford a rental in the private market amid the current housing crisis, she said.
“You are not going to get a rent like $173 in the real world. That is not even bond money,” she said.
According to the Domain June 2024 rental report, the price of renting a house in nearby Gladstone has almost doubled since 2019, rising from $260 per week to $500.
Similarly, the price of renting in Rockhampton is now $480 a week, up from $300 five years ago.
Langley estimated it would cost around $6000 to move their 11-metre by 8-metre caravan to a new location by truck.
“It’s all up in the air, we don’t know what we will do and it’s very stressful,” Langley said.
A Change.org petition was started by Langley’s granddaughter to draw to draw attention to their plight.
9news.com.au has contacted Livingstone Shire Council for comment.
Caravan park demand ‘a symptom of housing woes’
There are almost 17,500 people living in caravan parks or camping grounds in Queensland and close to 56,000 Australia wide, according to Australia Bureau of Statistics data from the 2021 Census.
Caravan Parks Association of Queensland CEO Michelle Weston said the current housing crisis had increased demand for permanent sites at a time when tourist visits were also at a high.
“The tourism side of the caravan park sector has experienced year-on-year growth for probably the last 10 years,” she said.
“In the last four years in particular, off the back of that Covid bubble, we have experienced exceptional growth.
“So caravan park operators have been put in a really challenging situation where they need to balance tourism visitation with people looking for long-term accommodation.”
Weston said the cost-of-living crisis meant more families were seeking out cheaper holiday options, which included caravan parks.
While some caravan parks may have shifted their focus towards the booming tourism sector, Weston said most hadn’t decreased their number of permanent sites available.
In many cases, caravan park operators were simply unable to keep up with the demand for permanent sites, which was being fuelled by a lack of affordable housing, Weston said.
“What we actually need is more housing stock outside of caravan parks, in the broader community,” she said.
“Caravan park living doesn’t suit everyone. It’s a close environment. The dwellings are often a lot smaller.
“For some people, having a house in the community or a flat is a much better option, but there’s no availability at the moment, so they are having to seek an alternative that doesn’t necessarily suit their lifestyle.”
Contact reporter Emily McPherson at emcpherson@nine.com.au
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