Exclusive: Queenslanders Howard and Shirley Hill have called site 75 at Dicky Beach Holiday Park home for more than 30 years.

They poured their life savings into building a home on the long-term site, one where their grandkids and great-grandkids can come for holidays and there’s always time for a beer on the deck at the end of the day.

But under a new council plan, Howard and Shirley’s little slice of paradise may soon be worth nothing.

Proposed changes to the residential area of Dicky Beach Holiday Park will see the land where the Hills’ home is located, along with more than 80 others, returned to its “intended purpose” as camping and recreational reserve sites.

The change is set to come into effect in May 2026 and when it does, residents will no longer be allowed to sell their homes to new owners.

It has rendered the homes of about 100 residents ”virtually unsellable and worth nothing”.

“It’s devastating,” Howard told 9news.com.au.

“We put $110,000 into this [home] and we could have sold it six months ago for $350,000.

“Now it’s not worth $3.50, if council gets what they want.”

He and Shirley had considered selling their home to help granddaughter Candice Hill and her husband break into the property market.

The idea was to find a property with a granny flat and embrace multigenerational living.

Now it seems that dream has been dashed.

“The proposed change, expected to be considered at an upcoming Ordinary Meeting, is to gradually restore the park to its original purpose under the Land Act 1994 as a short-term holiday destination,” a Sunshine Coast Council spokesperson said.

“Importantly, under the proposal, current tenants would not be asked to leave.”

If adopted, the changes would only apply when a tenant voluntarily vacates their site.

“This approach, known as the Natural Attrition Procedure, has been in place in five other Council-owned holiday parks since 2005,” the spokesperson said.

Residents were informed of the proposed changes at a meeting last month.

According to a fact sheet handed out at the meeting, they are “welcome to remain in their place of residence for as long as they are willing, or able, to do so”.

But Howard claimed they were told at the meeting that when they leave, whether by choice or for other reasons, they will have to pay to remove their homes so the land can be turned into camping grounds.

“So when you get to an age where you have to go into palliative care or a nursing home, whatever the case may be, it has to be pulled down, bulldozed,” he alleged.

“And you have to pay for it. It’s disgraceful.”

A council spokesperson told 9news residents’ non-fixed dwellings are considered “personal property” and must be removed at the end of their tenancy, in accordance with residential tenancy regulations.

“Council is committed to managing these matters in a fair and reasonable manner and will assess each situation on a case-by-case basis to ensure equitable outcomes for all parties involved,” they said.

It’s yet another turn off for potential buyers, Howard claimed.

One of his neighbours recently tried to sell her home in Dicky Beach Holiday Park, only to have a prospective buyer pull out because of the proposed changes.

Others fear they won’t get a fair offer if they try to sell, so they’ll be forced to stay.

“They say, ‘You can sell your residence now if you want to,’ but who’s going to buy anything with that hanging over their head?” Howard said.

His granddaughter Candice said that outsiders might assume residents can simply move their home to a different caravan park, but that’s not the case.

”They’re not caravans, they’re not things that they can just hitch up and tow away, they’re actual little homes,” she said.

“Imagine someone saying to you, ‘Sorry you can no longer sell your house.'”

The news has caused distress among the 100-odd long-term residents, many of whom are grandparents and great-grandparents.

One elderly woman is so distraught she can barely leave her home.

“I reckon this is going to push someone over the edge here, and someone will finish up in hospital over this,” Howard said.

He’s formed a committee with other residents determined to fight against the changes.

“We’re not asking council to change anything, we’re not asking council to spend any money, we just want them to leave it the way it is,” Howard said.

“They think that we’re just a mob of old geriatrics in here and we won’t fight.

“Well, I’ll tell you, they’ve got another thing coming.”