Dungog Shire councillors will tonight consider the future of camping and caravanning spots in the shire.
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The council's general manager, Coralie Nichols, has asked councillors to "determine the most appropriate action" in relation to camping and caravanning at Wharf Reserve Clarence Town, Dungog Showground and Paterson Sportsfield.
The three sites which are Crown Land with council acting as land manager, do not have current development approval to operate as camping grounds.
"The lawful provision of camping facilities within the Shire - and most especially the provision of these facilities on Council managed land - has long been a vexed issue for Dungog Shire Council," Mrs Nichols told councillors in a report.
"For a range of reasons council has failed to regulate its own direct activities."
The report which will be considered at tonight's ordinary council meeting (March 20) follows the council's move earlier this month to close its Williams River Holiday Park due to safety and legislative issues.
That move sparked much community angst due to the lack of warning and the importance of the park to the local economy.
Part of the research into how the situation at Clarence Town arose identified compliance issues at the other council-managed sites.
"The Wharf Reserve, Dungog Showground and Paterson Sportsground do not generate the same level of exposure, but they are nevertheless non-compliant in many ways and cannot be allowed to continue unlawful provision of camping facilities," Mrs Nichols told councillors.
She acknowledged that while it may not be a popular decision, the council must act diligently.
"Such diligence should include as a minimum the prohibition of general camping on council managed lands for which no approval has been provided."