New policy seeks tight controls on freedom camping

A draft Far North District Council policy on freedom camping will go out to the public for feedback and comment next week.

The policy provides for only four locations at which self-contained mobile homes will be permitted on reserves or public places. No locations have been designated for campervans which are not fully self-contained.

"Even in permitted locations, the maximum stopover is restricted to 24 hours and the number using the sites at any one time is restricted to four," General Manager for Infrastructure and Assets David Penny said today.

"The intention of the policy is to encourage all campers, campervans and mobile homes to utilize designated commercial campgrounds, holiday parks or Department of Conservation approved camping areas for overnight stays," he said.

The four locations at which self-contained campervans will be permitted are at Derek Landing on Waikare Road, Kawakawa, Lake Waiparera near Awanui, the Kaimaumau Recreation Reserve at Kaimaumau and the Unahi Reserve near Awanui.

"The council asked its three Community Boards to talk informally with their communities and to recommend possible sites at which freedom camping would be acceptable. These four were the sites which were supported, but only for fully self-contained vans. One of the reasons these were selected was because they are some distance from any alternate formal camping areas," he said.

Conditions have also been applied in the policy to require users to only empty wastewater containers at designated pump-out stations, to respect the environment, remove all rubbish and waste, not to set any fires and to respect the location by keeping noise levels down. 

Non-compliance with the proposed policy could lead to penalties including parking infringement fines of $60, litter fines of $400, or in a worst case scenario either confiscation of the vehicle or a prosecution through the courts with a fine of up to $20,000 on conviction.  

"We are giving a strong message to freedom campers that we expect them to enjoy and respect the Far North environment, abide by the rules, or suffer the consequences. However this doesn't mean we will be engaging a small army of enforcement officers. The intention is to manage the policy with existing staff and the cooperation of the public and other agencies," he said.

"Now is the opportunity for the community to make formal representations on any changes they would like to see made before the new policy is formally adopted later this year," he said.

The proposed policy opens to public submission on Wednesday 11 May and the submission period will close on 13 June 2011.