Camp owners fear for site's future

The Tirohanga Beach Motor Camp near Opotiki has been run by the McLellan family for 33 years. Photo / Supplied

A camping ground near Opotiki is for sale but its owners are hoping the land will not be used for housing.

Bayleys is marketing the Tirohanga Beach Motor Camp in the eastern Bay of Plenty and says the place has been run by the McLellan family for 33 years. Owners Robert and Glennis McLellan are selling the 5.66ha site.

The agency said the couple were "resigned to the possibility that the coastal site could be bought by property speculators and turned into an upmarket housing development".

The campground overlooks Tirohanga beach and has land for camping, three cabin units, four tourist flats and areas for laundry, cooking and showers.

Robert McLellan said generations of New Zealanders had stayed there.

"But the cold reality was that the property could well end up as a gated community with palatial homes and exclusive beach access.

"Glennis and I would love to see the camp continue but we are fully aware that its days could be numbered, and while it would obviously be heart-breaking to see 33 years of family heritage and tradition come to an end, we have to face up to reality," he said.

The campsite was established in the 1950s.