Caravan Park subdivision

Current

24 Oct

The fate of our Caravan Park has been an ongoing community concern for many years. The previous 14 Lot Subdivision Application was refused by Council. The Sandy Point Community Group (SPCG) was an objector to the application and a party at the subsequent VCAT hearing, which upheld the Council decision.

SPCG is disappointed that the revised subdivision proposal of the Caravan Park has been approved by the South Gippsland Shire Council (SGSC) at their April 15 2026 Meeting. The closure of the Caravan Park will be a significant loss to the community of Sandy Point. A holiday at the Caravan Park, across the road from one of the state’s best beaches, has been an affordable option for generations of holidaymakers.

SPCG acknowledges that the land is privately owned and, in the opinion of Council officers, the developer has largely addressed the issues raised in the 2024 VCAT appeal. This is very sad news for the Sandy Point Community and especially concerning those current residents of the Caravan Park who may not have been aware of the proposal for redevelopment that has been in progress since 2021.

There are some positives relating to the design of the development that have been influenced by the many petitions from the Sandy Point community and the Sandy Point Community Group. The development has been reduced from the original 13 to 11 dwellings and the number of crossovers onto busy Beach Parade has been reduced from eight to six. In total, there are 29 conditions placed on the Council’s approval for the subdivision to proceed. Details of the recommendation and conditions are available in the Council Minutes of the decision, starting on page 15. [South Gippsland Shire Council or download PDF here]

We also note that Councillor Gilligan spoke strongly against the proposal at the Council Meeting. We thank her and the other councillors for supporting the position that was clearly articulated by the Sandy Point Community Group and 28 other objectors.

We would like to thank everyone involved in appealing the original 2021 development proposal and the subsequent 2025 proposal. In particular, we would like to thank David Skipper, Peter Slifirski and Rob McGauran for the countless hours spent petitioning the Council and appearing at VCAT.

We will continue to argue that the loss of community benefit should be off-set by a public open space contribution, as is commonplace in other jurisdictions in relation to planning applications such as this. The loss of the Caravan Park could be compensated in part by the creation of a village green which would augment various community activities.

Full details of the Council officers review of the most recent development application can be found in Attachment part 2 of the Agenda for the Council Meeting on 15 April 2026, commencing page 9. [South Gippsland Shire Council or download PDF here]

Details of the Council meeting agenda and a video recording of the meeting can be found on the Council website. The relevant part of the video starts at 38 minutes in from the start.

We are currently seeking advice on next steps in the process and will update this website once a decision is made.

Some recent history

The first proposal for redevelopment noted in the Council’s documents was in 2004 for development of 10 dwellings on the land on the corner of Ocean View Road and Surfer’s Walk. Various permits were issued for this area in 2007, 2011 and 2017 including permits for the two easements onto Ocean View Road that form part of the latest sub-division proposal. Only three of the ten proposed dwellings were built, and the remaining undeveloped land has been used as part of the caravan park.

The proposal for subdivision of the entire caravan park land was first lodged with Council in 2021. This was for a subdivision of 14 allotments including 13 dwellings. SPCG lodged an objection, along with many others. This permit was refused by Council and the applicant appealed to VCAT. Further modifications were submitted to VCAT, reducing the allotments from 14 to 13 and dwellings from 13 to 12. Hearings were held in May, June and August 2024 with Peter Slifirski, David Skinner and Rob McGauran attending for SPCG. In its decision of October 2024, VCAT upheld the refusal to grant a permit. The reasons are outlined in detail in their decision. [Download PDF - Prom Country Developments Pty Ltd v South Gippsland SC 2024 VCAT 1015 (23 October 2024)].

The latest request for subdivision was lodged with Council in March 2025. The proposal was further modified with the number of allotments reduced from 13 to 12 and dwellings reduced to 11. The number of crossovers on Beach Parade was reduced from eight to six.

Council received 29 objections to the permit including this one by Sandy Point Community Group. [Link to the full SPCG submission, submitted 27/08/25]. At its meeting of 15 April 2026, the 2025 subdivision was approved. In the opinion of Council officers, the developer has largely addressed the key concerns raised in the 2024 VCAT decision with the main issues being neighbourhood character and vegetation removal. The West Gippsland Water Catchment Authority also objected, but in the opinion of Council officers, the issues raised were the same as those raised during the previous VCAT hearing and were previously dismissed by the Tribunal.

You can review the details of the officer’s advice to Council in Attachment part 2 of the Agenda for the Council Meeting on 15 April 2026 commencing page 9. [South Gippsland Shire Council or download PDF here]