The Ballan Caledonian Caravan Park elder is one of the 21 residents who could be homeless after the Department of Sustainability and Environment decided to close the park in July.

This is the second time Ms Murphy would have to leave her home.

Three years ago she was forced to pack up her relocatable house and move to her current location after the closure of another caravan park in Ballan.

Ms Murphy said she had been reluctant to leave her home of 14 years but had only just begun to settle down at the caravan park.

“I don’t want to be uprooted again,” Ms Murphy said. “I am scared. I don’t want to move.”

The only caravan park, Ms Murphy said, that would be able to accommodate her two-bedroom house was located on the Western Highway in Ballarat.

Ms Murphy, who moved to Australia from Scotland, has no other family here. The move to Ballarat, she said, would isolate her from her network of friends.

Close friend Janine Jensen, who drops in three or four times a week, said she would not be able to “look in” as often if Ms Murphy moved some 30 kilometres away.

Resident Ross Glascock, 68, is also unsure about his future if he is forced to move.

“I have lived and worked around here all my life,” Mr Glascock said. “My whole life is here.”

Mr Glascock, who suffered a stroke a couple of years ago, also accesses various services including meals on wheels and the local doctor.

Once a fortnight he meets up with his friends at the men’s group in Ballan.

“I have everything I need here,” he said.

“I did think I was set for life here.”

Earlier this week, a group of locals, including businessman Paul Tatchell and Ballan Community Health Assistance manager Katie Talty, came forward with a plan to build low-cost housing at the park.

Mr Tatchell, who has lived in Ballan for 20 years, said he could not stand aside and watch the residents kicked out of their homes.

A spokesperson for the Minister for Environment said the DSE would meet with Mr Tatchell to discuss his proposal.