Jamberoo Action Park is again seeking permission to use its car park to store new cars in the off-season. Photo: Jamberoo Action Park.
Jamberoo Action Park is again investigating an option to make money from its sprawling car park.
The park, which closed for the season on 5 May, has relaunched plans to use some of its 3200-space car park as a temporary holding yard for up to 1300 new cars arriving in Australia through Port Kembla.
Its original development application was knocked back by Kiama Council in October last year over concerns about zoning and environmental impacts.
By then, rows upon rows of 1600 brand-new Chinese BYDs had already filled the car park and the council said it had received “several complaints” from the public.
But the park isn’t backing down, saying its very survival might depend on it.
A fresh development application (DA), lodged in March and recently exhibited for public feedback, argues the proposal has been misunderstood – and should be allowed under existing planning rules.
It said the council’s previous classification of the car park as a “passenger transport facility” was fundamentally flawed.
“The Kiama Local Environment Plan defines car park to mean ‘a building or place primarily used for the purpose of parking motor vehicles, including any manoeuvring space and access thereto, whether operated for gain or not’. The application is for this purpose and no other,” the new DA reads.
Under the new plan, the car park would be used only during the park’s off-season, from late April to early September, when visitor numbers drop to zero.
“Vehicles being parked are delivered by truck and then driven individually into the parking spaces until required off-site in which they are picked up by truck,” the DA said.
“Typically, cars are parked in tandem up to four cars deep.”
The proposal would still leave sufficient space for staff and park operations, with up to 1299 spots allocated for imported vehicles.
For Jamberoo, the plan is about making use of idle infrastructure at a time when revenue dries up – and costs very much don’t.
Marketing manager Grant Wright told Region annual visitor numbers to the park have dropped by about 50,000 between 2008 and now, and “that is a conservative number”.
“This is a concern considering the population growth over that time.”
A Google Maps view of the Jamberoo Action Park from October 2024, showing the car park full of cars. Photo: Google Maps, Screenshot.
He said the park continued to carry significant expenses even while closed and maintaining some level of income through the car park would ease that.
“During the off-season, Jamberoo retains a full complement of staff to maintain and prepare the park for forward operations,” he said.
“In addition to that, general park improvements, new ride developments and other operating expenses such as insurance and water treatment are all ongoing, even when the park is closed and when there is no income.
“Using the car park for a fit purpose during a time when there is no impact to park operations or guest experience can help attenuate expenses. This puts the park in a stronger position to deliver improvements and attractions that will improve the guest experience and attract more visitors to the region.”
The vehicles themselves would not stay long, moving in and out as they are distributed to dealerships along the South Coast, including in Wollongong and Nowra.
“The cars were always in a state of flux in the sense that they were coming and going,” Mr Wright said.
He added the park would be open to brands other than BYD also using the space.
“Jamberoo Action Park has long considered useful purposes for this underutilised infrastructure, so I believe we would be open to any brands for parking if the paperwork was all in place.”
The proposal is now back in the hands of Kiama Council, which confirmed it is assessing the application.
“A previous DA was refused last October after council received several submissions from members of the public about this issue,” a spokesperson said.
“The [new] DA was on public exhibition, finishing on 31 March. Staff are assessing the current proposal in accordance with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act before a final determination is made.”
Last year’s rejection centred on the classification of the site as a prohibited “transport depot” under its rural zoning, along with environmental concerns.
The new application pushes back on that interpretation, arguing a car park is still a car park – regardless of who is using it.
“It is considered irrelevant as to whether the use is by visitors to the park or for parking of vehicles as long as all potential impacts have been addressed,” the application states.
The park also says updated traffic, bushfire and environmental assessments show the plan would not affect local roads, habitat or wildlife.
A decision is expected in the coming weeks.
Original Article published by James Coleman on Region Canberra.
