31 August 2011

Freedom Campers Banned From Certain Parts of Hurunui

Freedom campers will no longer be able to park up anywhere they like within the Hurunui District.

The Hurunui District Council last week adopted its amended Freedom Camping Bylaw which prohibits vehicles which do not carry their own toilet facilities from overnighting anywhere but a fully serviced camping ground in the district.

Environmental Services Manager, Judith Batchelor, says the Council recognises some visitors prefer freedom camping to traditional forms of accommodation and that their presence in the district has associated economic and social benefits for the district.

“It is because of the potential adverse environnmental effects and concerns around the campers safety that the Council will now require all but certified self contained vehicles to use camping grounds and not the side of the road for their overnight stays.”

The Bylaw prohibits freedom camping at any council controlled public reserve or road in urban areas, with one exception – a designated area for overnight camping at the Rotherham Reserve; any area where no camping signs are displayed;, within five hundred metres of any existing accommodation facility; and in any specified area where freedom camping is prohibited, including Northern Pegasus Bay Motunau Beach, the Hurunui River Mouth, St Anne’s Lagoon, Cheviot Hills Domain, Cathedral Road, Manuka Bay and Port Robinson, and the Hanmer Basin..

Self-contained vehicles – those that include toilet and onboard cooking facilities – may still camp outside of these areas BUT for no more than two nights in any calendar month at any single location, which they must leave in a clean and tidy state.

Their toilet waste and greywater must be disposed of at a council approved dump point and all refuse disposed of at an approved refuse collection facility.

The rules come into effect on September 1st.

Anyone convicted of breaching the bylaw faces a fine of up to $20,000.

ENDS

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