A POPULAR caravan park located in a town's botanic gardens will finally
pull down the shutters after Easter, it has been revealed.
The last visitors will leave the park on April 6 and bid a sad farewell to
the Kyneton Caravan Park which, because of its location, has provided the
Macedon Ranges Shire Council with a management headache.
For many years, visitors – both locals and tourists – have enjoyed the
natural beauty of the botanical gardens. "For this very reason, the issue
of managing the caravan park has been a complex matter," the council said
in a statement.
The land on which the park operates is Crown land and is also listed by
Heritage Victoria.
The council said it supported and understood the importance of tourism,
including caravanning, and was committed to working with government and
the private sector to encourage the provision of a new, privately-owned
holiday park or similar accommodation to meet visitor needs.
The council took over control of the park in 2008 when a private operator
experienced difficulties with its management, but this was on condition a
review of its future.
As part of the review, the council invited all members of the Kyneton
community and various stakeholder groups to community consultations about
the future of the caravan park.
Focus groups were held last year, when people were invited to have their
say about the park's future.
The review explored the feasibility and cost of several options. However,
due to the significant heritage issues relating to the site, it was
considered not possible to keep the park in its current location.
Relocating to a less sensitive area within the botanic gardens or to
another new site would cost between $1.2 and $3 million, and the council
did not said it did not have the funds available for such a project.
As part of decommissioning the park, a Master Plan of the Kyneton Botanic
Gardens will be completed which will identify any further uses of the
park, including the siting of potential infrastructure such as a community
park.
The Kyneton Community Park Committee identified an area of the botanic
gardens as its preferred site to build a community park, following an
extensive analysis of potential sites by the committee and significant
community consultation, asking the community where they thought the best
location for the community park would be.
The proposed park is intended to be a free community space for use by
residents and visitors, with equipment and facilities for people of all
ages, including natural play elements, some play equipment, stepping-stone
pathways, a natural amphitheatre and barbecue area.
Whilst Macedon Ranges Shire Council has given in-principle support for the
committee to continue to investigate this as a potential site for a
community park, there is no guarantee that it will be located in this
area.
The council’s Economic Development and Tourism Unit and Tourism Victoria
have joined forces to undertake an analysis of accommodation supply and
demand in the Macedon Ranges, with consultants being appointed to carry
out the project.
The study will provide valuable data for potential investors looking to
develop accommodation in the region, and Macedon Ranges Shire Council said
it planned to produce an investment prospectus before the end of June this
year.
