Coastal Palms Holiday Park tenant Sandra Barnes can’t help but feel blindsided.
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In the past year, Sandra and a dozen of her neighbours have spent thousands in upgrades to their holiday homes at Shoalhaven Heads, with the approval of the landowners, only to find they will be evicted in April.
Her neighbour, who stands to be hit hardest by the upheaval, just completed a $70,000 renovation.
Tenants believe Allswell Communities, the owner of Coastal Palms, had plans to submit a development application and rezone the land 16 months before they were notified.
The eviction letter, mailed to more than 120 holiday park tenants this week, has gone down like a lead balloon.
“They knew they’d evict us a long time ago,” Sandra said.
“Someone laid fresh concrete and built a carport two to three weeks ago, and they approved that.
“To me, that’s just malice.
“The amount of money they’ve let us invest in our vans is unbelievable.”
If plans to rezone the land are approved by Shoalhaven Council, the holiday vans will be replaced with 80 retirement home villas.
One family moved their van on Saturday, to avoid paying rent until the eviction date.
However, they have been told they must continue to pay rent – more than $450 per month.
“Look, they’re a business, I understand that,” Sandra said.
“All I can say is, if I was going to retire, I wouldn’t put a cent of my money in their parks.”
A group of tenants plan to attend Shoalhaven Council’s development committee meeting on Tuesday to show their opposition to Allswell’s development plans.
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