The following comments are to be attributed to Director, Planning, Design & Development Gareth Smith:
City Local Laws officers have issued three infringement notices to overnight campers at Eastern Beach.
The City was made aware of campers overnight on Saturday at Eastern Beach Reserve via CCTV monitoring and a regular security patrol. Police also attended the reserve during the evening.
City Local Laws officers and policed attended the site early on Sunday morning and City officers issued infringements.
The maximum penalty for illegal camping, if prosecuted, is 15 penalty units and an infringement notice from a local law officer is three local law penalty units. The value of each local law penalty unit is currently $100.
It is disappointing that some users have disregarded the prominent signage at the reserve, advising that camping is not permitted.
Eastern Beach is a one of Geelong’s most iconic destinations, loved by locals and tourists alike.
We will continue to monitor this site, conduct regular patrols and to work with Victoria Police to ensure visitors can enjoy this wonderful space.
Additional comments in response to an inquiry from the Geelong Advertiser:
There are multiple patrols being conducted at night between dusk and dawn. Monitoring is occurring via CCTV and regular private security patrols have been put in place by the City ahead of the summer period in anticipation of it being a very busy summer.
The City is working with police to patrol the area.
We have put in place a range of additional security and patrolling measures, including CCTV and private security to monitor any potential camping activity at Eastern Beach.
