On 26 June, 2008, the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, the Hon Gavin Jennings, announced that the Brumby Government would invest $4.26 million to relocate and upgrade the Seaspray Caravan Park. The Minister noted in his announcement that this will be a modern facility featuring the latest designs and would cater for future growth with additional sites.

Following this announcement the Seaspray Reserves Committee of Managment, in partnership with the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), commissioned the development of concept designs for the new Caravan Park and for the redevelopment of the Foreshore area once that new Park is operational. In December, 2008 the Committee put the Concept Plans for the new Park on public display in Seaspray and made these available to the community on the Seaspray website.

On 24 January, 2009 the Committee and DSE convened a public meeting at the Seaspray Hall at which the plans were discussed and reviewed in detail. A copy of the Notes from that meeting is also available for download from the website.

The Committee does not expect to commence relocation of vans or cabins to the new Park before Easter, 2011. It is our intention however to give Park occupants twelve months notice of the standards to apply to structures in the new Park so as to enable all existing occupants to consider and plan for the move.

Matters noted at the public meeting were that:

• The Committee advised its intention that existing users of the Caravan Park will be given first option in relation to allocation of sites in the new Park.

• Permission will be required to erect any structures in the new Park;

• If Council Building Permits are needed there will be a need to obtain Park Management approval prior to seeking Council approval;

• Only one car will be allowed per site, but there will be car parking facilities provided outside the Park where a second car, or visitor cars, can be parked;

• The Park will be fully fenced with one vehicle access point and one or two pedestrian access point. The main pedestrian access point to the beach will be at the Foreshore Road/Shoreline Drive corner;

• The Committee will be aiming that sites (other than tent sites) will have a sewerage connection, water, power and a concrete pad as part of the infrastructure of the Park;

• The “by-laws’ that apply now would apply to the new Park – e.g. limitation on 100 nights per year; limitation on numbers of visitors, etc.

• There is no right for a person who occupies a site to on-sell the site. The only people who can allocate sites are Park Management. Structures can be on-sold, but there is no automatic entitlement that a buyer will have future access to the site on which the structure is located;

• The Concept Plan provided for 72 sites to have en-suite facilities, but that number will be subject to review based on expressions of interest received and feedback from Park users;