Queenstown's Frankton Motor Camp will officially close at the end of this month to make way for a camping only facility.
Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) announced today the site would close on January 31 at 5pm for renovations.
QLDC parks manager Graeme Davies said the area would be fenced off and trees around the campground would be trimmed to make way for the removal of cabins and caravans.
The motor camp would become a construction site from Friday, with access granted only by appointment and for scheduled removals.
A new campground management lease was set to begin on May 1 and the site was expected to be cleared by April 30.
QLDC Community Services General Manager Thunes Cloete said the council received a number of applications to take over the commercial lease and ''play a key role in the redevelopment project''.
“We now have a short-list of two applicants and are working through commercial negotiations with those parties. When the site is redeveloped, we expect it will provide modern, much needed camping capacity for both domestic and international holiday makers in a great location on the lake-front.”
The decision to return the motor camp to its original purpose was made following the adoption of the Responsible Camping Strategy in October 2018.
The strategy defined camping as 'staying overnight for recreation in an outdoor area for one or more nights, usually in a tent, cabin, caravan, campervan or other vehicle'.
This meant temporary or permanent residential accommodation in camp grounds was not included.
