Add Category
Single mother Beck Meyers has a place to live, on land she owns, and she is quite comfortable and happy living there.
But her home is a camp-style set-up that doesn't adhere to council regulations, so she, her two primary school-aged children, and her friend Nathaniel Muller, who co-owns the land with her, have been ordered to pack up and leave by the end of the week.
Ms Meyers and her children have been living at the bush block at Campbells Creek, near Castlemaine, since September, when the lease on their rental property ended and they could not afford anywhere else. Mr Muller has lived at the site for longer.
Now, they fear they will end up homeless.
"It's absolutely bureaucracy gone mad," Ms Meyers said.
"It's not just camping. We've got big bell tents, we've got dry storage and we've got a functional outdoor kitchen."
They take their waste to a public waste disposal site, and their main water supply is bore water, although they bring in drinking water. They use a mobile solar trailer for electricity.
Ms Meyers believes allowing her family to stay on land they own is a smart solution to the current housing crisis.
"There's nowhere else for us to go, other than a public park or something, or to live in our car," she said.
"It's ridiculous. We could end up just being another family on the streets causing more burden in our community in trying to find housing [when] we would love to stay and make this our home."
A tranquil place
"We love waking up to the birds and hearing the frogs at night," Ms Meyers said.
"And my kids are thriving because previously I was in a rental situation [but] the lease ended, and I was not able to afford anything in the local area [to rent] so we decided to move onto our land.
"My kids are happy and less stressed because I'm less stressed about paying the rent."
However, due to a bylaw that prohibits camping on land where there is no existing dwelling, officers from the Mount Alexander Shire Council have told Ms Meyers and Mr Muller they're not allowed to camp on their property and have given them until Friday to leave.
The pair previously applied for a permit to camp on land without a dwelling for six months, which was rejected earlier this month.
According to a Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning Property Report from March 2024, the property is in a designated bushfire-prone area, so "special bushfire construction requirements apply".
The land is also in a farming zone, and is surrounded by the Castlemaine Diggings National Park.
The council says the block has no formal access for emergency services and is very close to a waterway.
Council cites block's 'serious' constraints
Mount Alexander Shire Council infrastructure and development director Michael Annear said the council wanted to make sure Ms Meyers, her children, and Mr Muller were protected.
He said council had spoken with the property's owners several times over the years.
"It's not really possible to live on this block at this point in time," Mr Annear said.
"The constraints are really serious and we're concerned for their protection."
Mr Annear said he understood why some people might think that "this situation is quite crazy".
"[But] the challenge we have here is not 'bureaucracy gone mad', it's more that the current wishes and visions of Beck and Nathaniel are not really matching to the site," he said.
Mr Annear said the council was committed to helping those experiencing housing stress.
"We know that there is a big need across our shire, with over 700 households who are without affordable housing and are registered on the Victorian housing register," he said.
"While council is not directly responsible for providing affordable housing, we have taken action to release some of that pressure by releasing some land to housing providers to develop for affordable housing."
In June last year, the council also voted to remove permit requirements for camping or living in caravans or tiny homes on a property where there was already an existing dwelling.
Get our local newsletter, delivered free each Tuesday