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Hazelwood Pondage Caravan Park Closure

Hazelwood Pondage Caravan Park temporarily closed.

By Portal Admin - 8th January 2019 - Back to News

On Monday 3 December Council decided to temporarily close the Hazelwood Pondage Caravan Park. This decision was made in response to the lowering of the water levels by ENGIE which in turn compromised fire safety at the caravan park site.

As the water level has been reduced by ENGIE, Council officers have responded by checking and monitoring the fire services systems to ensure that it was operational. The site requires a fire fighting service to comply with the requirements under The Residential Tenancies (Caravan Parks and Movable Dwellings Registration and Standards) Regulations Act 2010.

An inspection was carried out on the morning of Monday 3 December by Council officers and during this inspection the current firefighting system failed. This failed firefighting system cannot provide fire service support to the Hazelwood Pondage Caravan Park. This is the second time the firefighting system has failed and due to this failure Council’s responsible course of action is to close the caravan park.

Not having a fire fighting service exposes Council to the risk of neglect if a fire did occur. As the fire services system is unable to provide support to the Hazelwood Pondage Caravan Park, Council will close the site from Tuesday 4 December at 5pm.

A budget of $20,000 has been allocated to provide an interim firefighting service at the site allowing the site to operate for a limited period. Once these interim firefighting services are established the site will be reopened until Sunday 14 January.

The site holders will be allowed to collect belongings and return the site to a satisfactory condition by 31 March 2019. Council have also endorsed the refund of the first quarter site fees to those site holders of the Hazelwood Pondage Caravan Park and return the land back to ENGIE following the remediation.

Council have passed this motion after considerable consultation with stakeholders and have tirelessly searched for alternative options. Due to the significant financial investment required to upgrade the site to ensure the safety of the community the decision has been made to close the site.

Quotes

"This alternative resolution is a way to please all parties and secure the safety of the site during the Christmas period, this will allow tenants to enjoy one last Christmas at the park" – Latrobe City Council Mayor Councillor Graeme Middlemiss

The Councillors and I regard the Hazelwood Pondage Caravan Park as a major recreational location in Latrobe City and we are deeply disappointed in its closure" – Latrobe City Council Mayor Councillor Graeme Middlemiss

"Council has a legal obligation to maintain the fire service system, and as we can’t maintain the system we a forced to close the Hazelwood Pondage Caravan Park" – Latrobe City Council Mayor Councillor Graeme Middlemiss

"We will re-open as soon as possible with a temporary fire service system and the caravan park will close permanently on 14 January 2019 "– Latrobe City Council Mayor Councillor Graeme Middlemiss

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: support@gippsland.com