Caravan park owner loses twice after local community board refuses to shut down free campsite and outsmarts them: ‘Our community relies on tourists to keep afloat, our town's economy would suffer if they had it their way’

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• Caravan park wants us to close a free campsite?

  

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• It started as a local project to help everyone, travelers, backpackers, even the homeless who drift through with nothing more than an old car or a tent. The community keeps the place clean, provides taps and bins, and up until recently, even had showers and power outlets. It’s not luxury, but it makes passing through the area easy, which means people actually stop, eat, and spend money in town. 

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  ^{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}

• Then the caravan park decided it had seen enough generosity. Claiming the free campsite created “unfair competition,” they dragged the community to court. Their argument was simple: a taxpayer‑funded, zero‑fee campsite is stealing their business. What they left out is that their $80 plot of grass often sits empty because travelers can do math.  

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• The town lost a few amenities after that first legal round. The showers came out, power outlets vanished, and they were replaced with a big solar‑powered charging station that looked like a quiet protest disguised as sustainability. The community had technically complied with the law, but only in the most minimal way. Then the caravan park tried again, returning to court for a second attempt, and lost. 

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• Now the free campsite still stands, slightly less convenient but completely legal, while the caravan park carries the expensive badge of two failed lawsuits. The lesson seems pretty straightforward. If your business model only works when no one else can offer basic humanity for free, maybe it’s not the campers who need to move along, it’s the pricing strategy that does.

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