Councillors at Wednesday night’s council meeting resolved that the Showground was not a suitable location for the caravan park’s expansion, but agreed that Rylstone needed more

caravan sites.

The issue arose after Roger Sammut, manager of the Rylstone Caravan Park, wrote to council saying increasing bookings around Easter each year were about to outstrip the park’s capacity.

He suggested that, after minor adjustments, the Showground could accommodate the overflow of tourists from the park.

But, the plan outraged Show Society representatives, who protested against the loss of space and facilities and warned of the flood danger involved.

Cr Elwyn Lang said the Rylstone region was attracting growing numbers of tourists and occasional large gatherings. But, he said the caravan park lacked the facilities to accommodate the groups of 40 or 50 that could be drawn to the area, and instead had to be turned away. Cr Percy Thompson proposed that councillors look for other potential caravan sites around Rylstone when they travelled to the next town meeting in Kandos.

Cr Peter Shelley agreed, pointing out there were other options and opportunities available, and he would support council looking into them if

it helped to foster tourism in

the region.