RSL caravan park site holders dig in

An ardent group of 25 site holders at the RSL Memorial Caravan Park have dug in their heels and refused to accept an eviction notice, theTelegraph has learnt.

The Point Peron Road site is part of the Mangles Bay Marina proposal, which is being assessed by the WA Planning Commission. Despite no decision being made on the project’s future yet, the site holders of the caravan park were ordered to move on by August 28.

But 25 people still call the park home, with a formal hearing at the State Administrative Tribunal set for October 13.

The group, which includes army veterans, hopes to be granted a 180-day extension at the hearing.

Chairman of the site holder committee Damon Smith said the group could no longer afford a lawyer to fight their corner, but needed more time before leaving the park.

“The outcome we are looking for is that we are recognised under the Residential Parks Act as long-stay residents — the requirements of that is 180 days,” he said. “It is important because of the nature of our residents — we have a lot of veterans here who have seen service and are not necessarily well. We have elderly people here.

“In essence, what is important is that people need time to obviously adjust to the fact that we are not being relocated.

“People have to work out resolutions in terms of where they are going, if they are relocating their site themselves and some people want to sell their assets — it takes time.”