Cr Baker's 10-point plan to bring Diggers up to date

DIGGERS Headland Reserve camping ground will need first class management if it is to survive and Cr Andrew Baker believes his 10-point plan will put it on the right track.

Classified as a primitive camping ground in the Clarence Valley Council's parks register, it has been a popular destination for campers since 1909.

However the 21st Century has finally caught up with Diggers and Cr Baker's plan will mean there are a lot more rules and regulations for its users.

Here is his motion, which the council approved unanimously after more than an hour's debate on Tuesday night.

That Council as coprorate manager fo the Clarence Coast Reserve Trust (CCRT):

1. Note the submissions received in response to the public exhibition of the revised Camping Management Strategy for the Diggers Headland Reserve.

2. Allow the continuation of camping as per S68 Approval to Operate a Camping Ground issued for the reserve.

3. Not expand the northern camping ground area.

4. Implement a computerised booking system to manage camping on the reserve.

5. Define and mark with permanent markers the Reserve Camp Ground boundaries and the boundaries of each approve campsite after ensuring their compliance with the spatial separations required under the Local Government Act 1993 and the conditions of the its S68 apporval to operate a camping ground.

6. Prepare to scale a Reserve Camp Ground Site Plan showing the defined area of the Reserve together with the Camp Ground boundaries and the boundaries and measurements of each approved campsite.

7. Distribute the Camp Ground Site Plan to prospective bookers prior to accepting any booking where acceptance of that booking includes receipt of achnowledgement of the requirement for the site occupant's camp and any ancillary and/or associated items must remain entirely within the defined site area at all times as a condition of continued occupancy.

8. Require caravans and RVs to be self-contained with a condition of booking being that, black and/or gre water is not to be disposed of within the Diggers Headland Reserve area under any circumstances.

9. Conduct a full financial review f the Diggers Headland Reserve including the current and any proposed fee structure with the result of such a review to be reported to Council by its July 2017 meeing.

10. Review, in conultation with resident reperesentatives and camper representatives, the Landscape Management and Facilities Plan requirement to establish vegetative buffers to screen the camping ground from nearby residents and to determine the need for such buffers or other separation actions.