Freedom camping on council agenda

The Waitaki District Council is the latest authority grappling with the issue of freedom camping after a request a bylaw be introduced to control it.

However, the approach the council will adopt is not clear, with policy manager Ben Hopkins posing several questions that need to be answered before anything is done.

Those will be considered by the council's strategy committee on Wednesday.

The Waitaki Tourism Association sent a submission to the council earlier this month expressing concern about freedom camping in the district.

It said something had to be done to deal with "ablution activities" of the occupants of smaller camper vans which did not have on-board toilets.

A management plan was wanted before next year's Rugby World Cup, along with signs and brochures to educate camper-van occupants.

Mr Hopkins said council staff were reviewing what other councils were doing, but some questions needed to be answered before the Waitaki council took action.

Those were:

Is freedom camping itself a problem, or only the "ablution activities"?

Do extra toilet facilities need to be built for freedom campers or should privately-owned camping grounds supply what is needed?

Is there an unwillingness for freedom campers to pay for toilets and showers at private facilities?

Are there areas where freedom campers are not wanted, regardless of on-board facilities?

Is education favoured over regulation?

If the council regulated, what would the costs of enforcement be and would they exceed benefits?

Is a freedom camping bylaw needed or do existing bylaws adequately cover the problem?

david.bruce@odt.co.nz