Cochrane Pond campers take to City Hall, meet with mayor

Shocked and disgruntled Cochrane Pond campers took to St. John's City Hall to voice their anger onFriday.

The city shut down the campground on Thursday, citing fire and emergency safety concerns. Campsite occupiers were served eviction notices without warning and given three days to clear out.

A group of them planned to stage a protest in front of City Hall on Friday afternoon. When they arrived, they were granted a meeting with Mayor Danny Breen to discuss their predicament.

Joanne Snow, a longtime camper at CochranePond, attended the meeting and said it went well.

"We're going to let the powers that be do what they need to do to get things started," she said.

The park, however, remains closed.

Snow said campers still won't be allowed in the park during nights until two safety concerns are addressed wider roads and a secondary campground access route.

At the moment, there is only one road leading into the park, which is the fire department's main worry should an emergency situation arise.

But many of the campers stayed overnight on Thursday, despite being told by city officials that they could only be on the premises during the day to pack up their belongings.

They said they worried about looters entering their trailers and sheds if they were to leave them unattended.

The park is currently being leased to the Petten family, the operators, by the Department of Fisheries and Land Resources.

According to the government, the initial license to occupy the park was issued in 1996 by the Crown Lands division of the department, which expects that "the land will be used responsibly and safely and in accordance with the conditions of the license."