Albany council delays Rose Gardens lease decision so RAC and Redwood can become ‘good corporate citizens’

Councillors have voted to delay final approval of the replacement lease at the Rose Gardens holiday park so owners Redwood and buyers RAC could “have the opportunity to be good corporate citizens”. Residents told City of Albany councillors at Tuesday’s ordinary meeting that they had neither the time to find new homes nor the money to relocate from the Emu Point site. The council was due to approve the surrender of the current lease with Redwood and replace it with a lease for RAC Tourism Assets. However, a motion from Cr Robert Sutton to delay the approval for a month was passed unanimously. “In the ups and downs of the caravan park industry these long-term tenants have been the backbone, paying their rent every week or every month,” he said. “I think Redwood should up the ante. “RAC will spend millions on the site so a couple of hundred thousand at the start of the project isn’t a lot of money. “We should give RAC and Redwood the opportunity to be good corporate citizens and give these residents a go.” Cr Sutton said Redwood and RAC could do more to help residents financially as the cost of relocating their homes, or finding new ones, was prohibitive. The approval was delayed until the council’s next meeting on May 27. During public question time, councillors heard from residents about the hardships they were enduring after being told they would be evicted from the site. Many said they could not afford to move and were in poor health. Cr Lynn MacLaren said the council should not be just a cog in the planning process. “We can do more,” she said. “We don’t have to accept our role is simply to approve a new operator. “There is a crisis in housing and the tenants are poorly represented so let’s take the step and not make a decision that will make anyone homeless.” Cr Mario Lionetti voted for the delay and said he sympathised with the residents but also said they knew when they bought a property they could be asked to leave. “I bought one at Cheynes Beach and I know they can come over to me and say ‘you’re out’,” he said. “We can’t expect RAC to buy this place and have to wait forever.”