Homeless people ordered out, given 14 days to vacate Huntly Lions Park

The group of residents that are living in tents and caravans now have 14 days to find alternate accommodation after City of Greater Bendigo representatives and police attended the park on Monday morning.

Lee-Ann Gray, who has been living at Huntly Lions Park since January 2, said it was disappointing to have the notice handed to her.

"I don't know where we are going to go. If we have to move on, we have to move on. But there is nowhere to move on to," she said.

"Haven; Home, Safe want to help, which is fine, but they can't give us anything because there's no housing available. So where are we going to go?"

READ MORE:

The group of residents are otherwise homeless, and have faced problems finding alternative accommodation due to the combination of Bendigo's historically low rental vacancy and affordability rates.

Haven; Home, Safe has been trying to find people homes but people living in the park say that service has only been able to do so much.

In March, the council pressed for powers to help remove homeless people from the Huntly Lions Park, located on the Midland Highway, and to have the park reclassified so that local laws can be used to move on those living at the reserve.

A number of campers have become permanent residents of the park in recent months, despite the site only being left open to travellers needing somewhere to camp for short periods.

Council director of healthy communities and environments Stacy Williams confirmed the campers had 14 days to leave.

The change in status means Huntly Lions Park will not permit any camping and will only operate as a park for picnic and recreation.

"The change in status happened last week (and) campers were provided notice (today)," Ms Williams said.

"It's not a site that is set up for long-term camping. There is no access power or shower facilities.

"Certainly, there has been regular and clear communications with campers out there. We have been visiting with Haven since as far back as June as last year."

The notice provided to campers states the Depart of of Environment, Land, Water and Planning has approved a change in reservation status for Huntly Lions Park.

"The change in reservation status prevents and future use of the site as a camping ground," the notice reads.

"The Huntly Lions Park is no longer considered a recognised camping reserve under the Greater Bendigo City Council Community Local Law.

"We encourage you to use the various caravan and camping grounds available across the region or seek assistance from local community housing providers such as Haven Home Safe."

Ms Gray said the largest number of campers she has seen was 15 or 16 but that most moved on, including some that attracted trouble.

"Originally we had some people in here where trouble was happening quite a lot," she said.

"Some were alcoholics, some did other stuff. But since they left its been peaceful. It's been like that for the last three months, but we haven't seen council (in that time)."

Ms Williams said council has been working with the campers since June last year.

"In June, 2021, we resolved to work with Haven and the campers to look at relocation and were reviewing that 2022," she said.

"We are very lucky have a housing support agency in Bendigo that can look for sustainable, long-term options. That's their role.

"We do have some great support services in Bendigo and we encourage people experiencing issues to use them."

In March, Greater Bendigo mayor Andrea Metcalf defended the council's handling of the matter, saying the municipality had spent a year working with groups on potential accommodation solutions.

"This has been a challenging issue for councillors as we recognise COVID-19 has exacerbated homelessness and housing stress remains a significant issue for Greater Bendigo," Cr Metcalf said.

Councillors decided last year to defer a decision on the park's future over concerns about the pandemic.

They had made that decision despite concerns that the park was only ever intended for holiday-makers who needed short-stay accommodation, Cr Metcalf said.

"It doesn't meet all the safety requirements that caravan and camping parks have to have in place and so it represents a hazard to longer-term campers," she said.

Since then, campers at the reserve have reported many generous acts from Bendigo residents who have provided clothing, bedding and food as winter weather set in.

Haven; Home, Safe has confirmed some of its workers visited the reserve on Monday morning.

"Some people we spoke with indicated they will reach out to us for support when they are ready," a spokesperson said.

This story was updated at 3.54pm with comments from Haven; Home, Safe.

Now just one tap with our new app. Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with the Bendigo Advertiser. See how to download it below: