It’s welcome news that Maitland is being recognised as a recreational vehicle (RV) and caravan destination.
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The recognition comes after Maitland City Council approved a dumping station at Maitland Visitor Information Centre last week – an essential facility for travelers with motor homes.
It comes after council approved plans for a caravan park at Thornton last August.
It’s understood that council has received interest about another possible caravan park for the Tenambit-Morpeth area.
Council also has plans to raise the ground at Harold Gregson Reserve, opposite the visitors’ centre, and develop space for 12 vans.
These might seem like relatively trivial decisions to some people, but they have potentially powerful implications for Maitland.
Cr Steve Procter, a caravan enthusiast himself, said the projects would be an enormous benefit to Maitland.
And it’s hard to disagree.
Cr Procter said the developer of another caravan park once flagged for Telarah a couple of years ago was frustrated with delays as a result of the construction of The Hunter Expressway.
“That was a very difficult time because there was so much road work going on when the developer was keen,” he said.
“There was a lot happening with the Hunter Expressway and it was difficult to do road counts and I think that developer lost interest because the process was so slow.
“There was also a plan to establish a park at Walka but the infrastructure wasn't there for a toilet system and power had to be upgraded.”
The city’s willingness to embrace RV and caravan travelers shows a desire to expand tourism in the Maitland area.
With Maitland’s increasingly vibrant city centre, food venues and rural outlooks, it’s easy to see how this place would appeal to people whether they are on a weekend trip or traveling around Australia.
We are also a stone’s throw from one of the nation’s most famous wine regions and close to the beaches and city attractions of Newcastle.
These new facilities would encourage people, who would otherwise have passed by, to stop and spend some money in the town – which is a plus for Maitland businesses.
It would also help the city’s tourism efforts if those travelers spread the word about Maitland and what it has to offer.