By Jeremy Sollars
The Southern Downs Regional Council’s approval of its own proposal to establish a camping ground at Warwick’s Connolly Dam was not without its doubters, council records show.
Councillors at their April meeting in Warwick last week voted in favour of opening Connolly Dam up to camping, with 20 caravan and tent sites planned, along with a caretaker’s residence, over three stages.
A number of public submissions were lodged in relation to the plan, several of which pointed out major issues with the state of roads within the dam reserve, protection of wildlife such as waterbirds, unsuitability for caravans and vehicle safety on Connolly Dam Road.
And some suggested money might be better spent on facilities at Leslie Dam, which they argued would continue to draw greater numbers of visitors, while others supported the Connolly Dam idea wholeheartedly.
Among those who raised doubts about the proposal was prominent Warwick business identity Graham Buchner, who in his submission questioned spending on the project at a time when the council is “so financially stretched”.
Mr Buchner wrote in his submission that in his view the area around Connolly Dam is “very stony and harsh with very little grass” and “quite hilly, and the roads in the dam area are steep and have loose gravel”, which meant “any vehicle other than a four-wheel drive would experience wheel slippage towing a caravan”.
Mr Buchner also pointed out that boat owners can only use electric motors at the dam at weekends, creek crossings flood easily in times of heavy rain and that Connolly is an “out of the way location”.
He stated that Leslie Dam, in contrast, has an all-weather bitumen access road, easy access “for all kinds of caravans”, level ground for setting up camping sites, a concrete boat ramp, rubbish pickup, power to the northern end and existing amenities blocks in the Washpool Reserve.
Andrew Gale, who spends plenty of time at Leslie Dam conducting boat licence testing through his business AG Licencing has pointed to the lack of toilets and rubbish bins in the wider Leslie Dam area outside of the Washpool Reserve, saying Leslie should a “jewel in the crown of local tourism”.
“Basically I’m all for what they are doing at Connolly Dam, the toilet block there is out of the dark ages,” he said.
“I hope the proposed caravan park is financially viable give the small size proposed.
“It worries me that meanwhile, Leslie Dam camping reserve is operating the way it is presently.
“It’s proven to be a very popular recreational area for both campers and day users alike.
“The economic benefits and development potential from this resource appear to be badly under-utilised.”
Mr Gale said he would like to see some infrastructure put in place by the council in the day-use area such as bins, toilets and picnic tables.
“At the moment there are absolutely none of these facilities in any area for boaties,” he said.
“All the facilities there provided by SunWater are basically for picnickers and are away from the dam.
“The areas used by water skiers and fishermen and the like, who often come for the whole day have nothing – not a bin, or a bench, let alone toilets.
“Cunnamulla Weir has better facilities.”
The council recently wrote to SunWater requesting an upgrade of the Leslie Dam boat ramp, to which SunWater replied they were happy to approve an upgrade, potentially funded by Transport and Main Roads.
Mr Gale said the boat ramp currently is not useable for standard passenger vehicles with a boat trailer when Leslie Dam is less than 30 per cent full.
The Free Times was unable to obtain comment from the council for this story.
