Beachside parking a luxury for some and a haven for the most vulnerable

The unmetered lot, which has been running at capacity at the height of the summer holiday season, has become a flashpoint for some residents frustrated at finding perceived interlopers and long-stay parkers taking up undue space when parking is at a premium.

But, while the area is popular with some free campers and nomads, the parking lot is a haven for some of the city's most vulnerable residents, seeking a safe refuge from the streets that are also close to public facilities and nearby homelessness services like Soul Hub.

"A lot of others are in the same boat," Cameron, who asked not to be identified by his surname, said. "This is one of the few places we can go where it's safe and free. There's not a lot of free parking in Newcastle.

"I'm sure a lot of people are not happy that we're living here, but we're not doing this because we want to; we're just trying to survive.

"We don't know where else to go other than here."

The lot has around 216 parking spaces that hug the shoreline at the back of the Nobbys break wall. At around 11am on Wednesday, January 3, they were full as the vehicle queue toward the coast stretched back to the Watt Street roundabout, and cars circled the asphalt, hoping to jag a place near the water.

Cars accounted for most of the spaces, with one scooter, a motorbike sharing a parking space with another vehicle, the local ice cream vendor, and around 18 camping vehicles.

A few hundred metres back from the waterside, the metred Foreshore Park lot showed several free spaces as drivers inched along the way toward the beaches.

As residents raised complaint about the perceived interlopers, those campers who spoke with the Newcastle Herald this week expressed a general sentiment that if the lots were available they had as much right to their use as anyone.

Of the camping vehicles in the area on Wednesday, most occupied discrete lots, with the exception of a pair of motorhomes that collectively occupied four spaces. One, registered with out-of-state plates, occupied three spaces with an extended onboard compartment on one side and temporary fencing demarcating an area for a parked jet ski under a pitched annex awning on the other.

After spending the past four days in the beachside lot, which is signposted for a four-hour stay, the owners said they were planning to move on.

None of the campers who spoke with the Herald on Wednesday said they had been approached by local parking enforcement officers or had been asked to move along.

Newcastle Police said they were unaware of any complaints from residents and said officers would typically only become involved if a complaint was raised about non-compliant parkers. Enforcement was generally left to the local council, they said.

City of Newcastle said it was illegal for campers to pass extended stays in the lot, but added that the council was "not able to undertake any enforcement action, including relating to any road-related offences" because the land is state-owned.

"(Council) is aware that the land has been utilised at times by rough sleepers and our rangers work closely with the Newcastle Assertive Outreach Team, who also regularly attend the area," the City spokesperson said.