Clamp Down on Unlawful Freedom Camping

Queenstown Lakes District Council is about to start clamping down on freedom campers parking up in the wrong places.

Freedom camping is a popular way to see the district and QLDC Regulatory Manager Lee Webster says there are many places where visitors can spend the night in certified self-contained vehicles – those that have their own toilet and water supply on board.

Problems arise when people camp overnight in vehicles without their own facilities or when those in self-contained vehicles stay in places where freedom camping is not allowed, such as town centres and lakefront reserves.

While the Council prefers to educate than enforce, its early morning patrols still net an average of 30 unlawful campers each week. Mr Webster says that another disappointing statistic is that half of them leave the district without paying the $200 fine and the Council has no way of recovering the money.

So far, some rental companies have been unwilling to on-charge their clients’ credit cards for the unpaid fines, leaving ratepayers out of pocket to the tune of $300,000 every year.

The government has recognised that this is a national issue, identified in its Rules Reduction Taskforce earlier this year.

The solution QLDC is about to introduce is to clamp the offending vehicles. Drivers will have to pay an up-front fee of $200 to have the clamp removed as well as the $200 fine for breaching the Freedom Camping Bylaw.

Prominent signs warning of clamping will start going up in the most common problem areas within days, and enforcement will start before Christmas.

Mr Webster says that the most desirable result would be that all visitors would camp in the right places and none would have their vehicles clamped or ticketed. “We will be employing community guides over Christmas and New Year. Part of their job will be to go around in the evening and have a chat to people parked up in places where freedom camping is not allowed, and suggest alternative places they can stay.”

By moving to stronger enforcement of the Freedom Camping Bylaw, the Council is keeping faith with the community, who have had to deal with the litter and human waste left in laybys, reserves and other unofficial camping spots.

ENDS

© Scoop Media