A Coromandel holiday park popular with hundreds of holiday makers until its closure several years ago could once again ring with the sounds of summer.
The Waiomu Holiday Park closed in 2006, when it was bought by the Waikato Regional Council as part of the $28 million Peninsula Project; a joint government, Environment Waikato and Thames-Coromandel council plan to reduce the impact of flooding in the region. It involved new bridges, flood planes, drains, culverts, and pest control measures.
The project was, in part, prompted by the June 2002 death of Auckland woman Dorothy Newall, who died after being swept away from her caravan at Waiomu Holiday Park during a weather bomb.
The lower ground of the camp has been reshaped and retained to protect it from flooding and, with the work completed, the council is onselling it.
Bayleys Hamilton agent Mike Swanson said the site was 4629 sq m and comprised eight cabins, four motel units and an owner/manager's house.
"With the work now complete, the council has placed the camp site on the market for sale with the aim of recovering some of its landscaping costs,'' Mr Swanson said.
It would most likely be bought by a property developer "with plans to slice up the land'' but it was possible it could reopen as a holiday park. Sanitation facilities, driveways and common areas would have to be developed for it to be used as a holiday park, and council approval would be needed.
Despite that, he had had inquiries from people looking to do just that.
"In addition to those inquiring about the space for residential development, I have also had discussions with a number of former motor camp owner/operators looking at the potential for returning this site to its former glory,'' Mr Swanson said.
"From a tourism perspective, this would be a bonus for the Coromandel region by ensuring this gem remains available for future generations of New Zealanders to enjoy.''
The park has a 2009 capital value of $445,000 and was expected to sell in the low to mid $400,000s.
Holiday Parks Association of New Zealand chief executive Fergus Brown said the Coromandel had been hard hit during the boom years from 2005-07, when about eight holiday parks were sold to property developers, who then sliced them up.
However, many remained and more were opening nationwide each year than were closing.
"I guess the concern is where you lose them (from) and the Coromandel was pretty hard hit ... all of those certainly haven't been replaced but we have had others around New Zealand which have opened up,'' he told APNZ.
"There was, I guess, a little bit of fear out there that the traditional New Zealand beach holiday would disappear but that won't be the case because a lot of those parks are, in fact, on reserve land.''
The possibility of parks being bought for subdivision was less likely following the global financial crisis, Mr Brown said.
Mr Swanson said it was hard to know what subdivided sections of the park would sell for but that nearby 500 sq m sections were fetching $120,000.
