Shoalhaven City Council will report back on how Holiday Haven could contribute to providing winter housing relief and will call on the state government to open up Shoalhaven Crown land for the use of social and affordable housing.
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Amanda Findley's mayoral minute, which also initiated the process for lobbying the state and federal government to provide additional funding for social and affordable housing, was passed unanimously at the Ordinary Meeting on Tuesday, May 26.
The motion was prompted by a recent and similar motion in Byron Bay, which called on councils to try and get state and federal governments to listen to local government concerns on the matter of rental shortages.
Mayor Findley said she was especially concerned about the growing number of single women who were "car camping" in places like showgrounds.
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"And what I'd like to see is that a holiday haven becomes a safe haven for those women," she said.
"I also hope that many of those caravan parks have camping capacity and that camping capacity will not be fully subscribed to because it's winter."
She said holiday haven caravan parks could provide respite for a day or two by giving those who are living uncomfortably access to hot showers and laundry facilities.
But she said there is a big caveat to a plan like this as council must consult with the individual businesses contracted by council to manage these parks "to understand if there is capacity or willingness".
Shoalhaven holiday parks are on state Crown land, managed by council and operated by contracted businesses. They were designed to accommodate holidaymakers of all levels of income.
Mayor Findley said she recognised using caravan parks wouldn't be the complete solution, "just a band aid for winter".
"But I'm also on my way on Friday to the country mayor's association to try to get the attention of the Minister for Housing Melinda Pavey to extend "meanwhile use" (temporary use of empty land) of government land into the Shoalhaven and not just in Wollongong," she said.
"People who are under housing stress generally need to be close to services so that they can be supported. The New South Wales government owns a number of blocks on the Princes Highway in Nowra that already have sewer and water connected to them.
"If we could use those types of lands for temporary dwellings like manufactured homes, then we could get some more temporary housing for people. But we also need a strategy on where those people are going to go, when that land is needed, and [when] that land [will be] put aside for the Princes Highway upgrade."
