End of an era for modest Sandy Point caravan park, as 11 new townhouses approved

Robin Lemon comes to Sandy Point Holiday Park every year with his wife and two kids. 

“It's picturesque,” Lemon told the Monitor, standing out the front of his family's caravan plot in the park. “It's just a little escape and there's different people here all the time, so it's nice to meet new people from all over.”

Lemon’s mother has been paying for a lot at the Sandy Point Holiday Park for six years, but a new development at the holiday caravan park - narrowly approved by South Gippsland Council - would see the end to the family’s caravan getaways.

What happened: Sandy Point Holiday Park, which has provided reasonably-priced  accommodation to families for 60 years, is set to become 11 permanent townhouses, after South Gippsland Shire Mayor Nathan Hersey used his casting vote to break a council deadlock and back the proposal.

A previous application for 14 subdivisions at the same site - a mixture of holiday cabins and permanent sites - put forward by the owner, was refused by council in 2024, and the refusal was upheld by VCAT.

100-day contracts

Ona Sherwood told the Monitor her family has been coming to Sandy Point Holiday Park for many years. She and her husband signed up to a 100-day contract to the caravan park in October last year and have been renewing it.

“It's a lovely town and the beach is really accessible and safe for children during the summer,” Sherwood said. 

Holidaymakers can pay on a per night basis or sign a 100-day contract.

A 100-day contract at the park  costs about $5,200, or $52 a night. Regular rates for the park range from $30 a night during off-peak seasons for an unpowered campsite or up to $65 a night during peak seasons for a powered campsite.

Sherwood said her husband and kids spend about a month in Sandy Point every summer and then come down once a month throughout the year.

“The kids are really happy here,” she said. 

But the development approval means Sherwood’s Sandy Point holidays are likely numbered.

“If you change it to townhouses, they'll become Airbnbs and the average price of an Airbnb down here is $300 a night. That's not affordable for normal people,” Sherwood said.

Local tourism

Sandy Point Community Group President, Michelle Jelleff, told the Monitor if the town loses the tourist numbers from the caravan park it may have a “roll on effect" for local businesses like the general store.

The vote

Councillors Sarah Gilligan, Bron Beach, Brad Snell and Clare Williams voted to refuse the development application, while councillors Steve Finlay, John Kennedy, Scott Rae and Nathan Hersey voted to approve it.

Mayor Nathan Hersey exercised his casting vote to push through the development.

The Monitor attempted to contact Hersey and the owner of the Sandy Point Holiday Park on multiple occasions, but did not receive a response prior to publication.