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Park
closure tough on retirees
By
Colleen
Mackie
Tuncarry
Great Lakes Advocate,
6 May 2003 |
 Losing sleep: Olga and Phil Doyle, who have lost their
sense of security.
Australia
- WHERE
do you go if your home is a "permanent” caravan, you live on a
pension and rely on public transport...but your park is being closed down?
It's
a tough question facing some residents of Ocean Pines Caravan Park,
Tuncurry, who are finding they have very few options in the local area.
Ocean
Pines is one of around 30 caravan parks throughout NSW which are currently
in the process of closing down, or being converted from residential parks
to tourism usage.
This
trend is drastically reducing the amount of affordable housing in NSW,
according to the Parks and Village Service, a State-wide resource service
for caravan park residents' groups.
Ocean
Pines residents learned late last year that the park had been sold, and
then at the end of January, they heard through solicitors acting for the
new owners that the park would be permanently closed from September 30.
The
impending closure is proving particularly hard on a number of elderly and
infirm residents, who have been able to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle
there for a reasonable cost.
The
North Street park is shady and quiet, close to essential services and
shops, and public transport.
An
Information Resource officer with the Parks and Village Service, Di Evans,
said the impending park closure has created a "huge problem” for
some of the residents.
"There
are few other permanent sites available around the area, and none within
walking distance of shops and services,” Ms Evans said.
"Their
only option is to apply for public housing - for which there is a long
waiting list and it means they would almost certainly have to go out of
the area.
"This
is if they want to go into public housing - and you must remember that
these people, until now, have been homeowners.
"Many
people feel if they give up their homes they are giving up their
independence. It is a sad situation,” she said.
Another
option is private rental, which can be costly and precarious in an area
tailored to the holiday market.
The
Parks and village Service, which is funded by the Department of Fair
Trading and by residential park residents, through their bond payments, is
one of a number of organisations which have been trying to assist the
Ocean Pines residents.
Another
is the Mid Coast Tenants Advice Service, based in Port Macquarie, which
has been advising residents on their rights and assisting them to
negotiate with the park owners.
The
residents have recently been visited by a Department of Housing
representative and an Aged Care assessor.
Residents'
spokesperson is Fred Crockett, who has contributed many hours, phonecalls
and letters to the task.
He
said residents have sought the support of both Member for Myall Lakes John
Turner, and Great Lakes Mayor John Chadban, both of whom have given the
group a good hearing.
Fred
Crockett has lived at Ocean Pines for two years and has a lease which
expires in June next year.
He
has spent around $10,000 on turning his van and annexe into a comfortable
home, and is disappointed and angry to be leaving the retirement lifestyle
he had planned.
Mr
Crockett is one of the luckier ones - he has his own transport and he has
family in Tuncurry - but he is concerned about recouping his considerable
investment.
"One
of my neighbours is $4500 out of pocket - had we been given warning the
place was going to close we wouldn't have spent the money,” he said.
A
number of residents of the park have discussed settlement terms and
relocation with the park owners, others are in the process of doing so,
and some have already pulled out.
Still
others, Mr Crockett says, are waiting anxiously to hear from the park
proprietors.
However
there are some frail and elderly residents who are losing sleep about
where and how they will live in the future.
"I
believe these people do really deserve some consideration and sympathy
from the community,” he said.
"All
their life, all their friends and all they have is here.”
On
pensions, and with no assets apart from the caravans they live in, they
are fearful about the future.
The
park has been the home of Bill and Margaret Ryan for 15 years.
Neither
are in the best of health - Mr Ryan, 72, has recently had a hip
replacement operation, and his wife, 66, has had several strokes.
Mr
Ryan says the couple regarded the place as their home and "we thought
we'd die here”. Now they don't know what they will do, and say they
don't have any
money
to "start up again”.
Olga
and Phil Doyle moved to the park from the Newcastle area two years ago.
Mr
Doyle, 77, is in poor health and Olga, 74, cares for him.
They
moved to Tuncurry after holidaying here for many years.
Mrs
Doyle says the area is a great one, offering lots of interests for
seniors, and she, like everyone else living in the park, doesn't want to
leave.
"Everyone
here gets on really well - we're not in each others' pockets but you know
there's always someone nearby - I've always felt safe here,” she said.
However
that sense of security has gone and now Mrs Doyle finds herself losing
sleep over what the future holds.
"For
the first time in my life I feel I've got no control over my life - it's a
terrible feeling,” she said.
The
Ryans and the Doyles have been interviewed by a Department of Housing
officer, and are holding out hope that there may be public housing for
them, somewhere.
Also
hoping for some help through the Department of Housing are two elderly
sisters who have shared a neat caravan at the park since 1994.
The
women say they will desperately miss the convenience and the friendliness
of their home.
Owners
have offered help
THE
new owners of the park say they and the park managers have met with the
Tenants Advisory Service and given a guarantee that they want to work with
the service to provide positive outcomes for the tenants, with minimal
distress.
The
managers have had discussions with both the Department of Housing staff
and social workers at Centrelink in an effort to provide assistance.
"No
one will be forced from the park - the owners are willing to negotiate
with tenants for relocation, and are currently relocating several tenants
to local parks and parks on the Central Coast and at Nambucca Heads,” a
spokesperson said.
"The
park owners have recognised that the majority of tenants are on income
support and to date have provided assistance beyond what is required by
the Department of Fair Trading. This has included financial assistance,
the provision of furniture and assisted with bonds to limit distress,” a
spokesperson said.
The
progress of relocation processes have been discussed "constantly”
with the tenants, the spokesperson said.
The
new owners say they have purchased the park with the intention to
redevelop the land. A dire shortage of land in the Forster Tuncurry area,
either available or suitable for sub-division, has prompted them to look
for properties which could be redeveloped.
They
say the real issue in the park residents' plight is that there is simply
not enough public housing for low income earners/welfare recipients in
this area.
Housing
proposal
GREAT
Lakes Council will shortly be considering a proposal from a developer of
pension-linked accommodation for senior citizens.
The
item came before a recent meeting of council, but has been deferred to a
future meeting for consideration.
Village
Projects Pty Ltd wants to built a 50 unit residential complex, with
manager's residence, community building and other facilities, on land in
Chapmans Road, Tuncurry.
Village
Projects Pty Ltd director, Paul Greenup, confirmed that the proposed
development would provide an ideal housing option for aged people on low
incomes.
Mr
Greenup said there were already seven "Village Life” complexes in
NSW and 32 or 33 already open around Australia.
They
provide residents with fully furnished, self contained one-bedroom villa
units, three meals a day, a linen service and washing facilities, in
return for 85 per cent of their pension plus any rental assistance from
the Federal Government.
Residents
do not buy their accommodation - all they pay initially is a cleaning fee
which is used to professionally clean the unit when they decide to leave,
whether it is three months or many years later.
"It
is a scheme designed for independent seniors - it is not a nursing home or
an aged care centre - but we can call on outside services for assistance
if people do need additional help with some things,” Mr Greenup said. He
cited services such as the "excellent” Helping Hands available
here.
A
caretaker couple live on site and are on call 24 hours a day to assist
with any emergencies.
Mr
Greenup said some officers of the council had been quite supportive and he
hoped to be able to convince council of the worthiness of the scheme.
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