Camping free-for-all

Fears over abuse of popular beach and park sites

● Auckland Council plans to allow freedom campers at some of our most popular reserves and beaches.

● The bylaw, for hundreds of sites, sparks concerns over parking battles, alcohol, bad behaviour and conflict with neighbours.

● Free camping around New Zealand has already caused problems with littering and defecating.

● A number of local boards this week tried to exclude some areas but were unsuccessful.

Auckland Council is planning to roll out the welcome mat to tens of thousands of freedom campers at some of our most popular beaches and parks.

The proposal, thought to include hundreds of sites, has sparked concerns about toilets, alcohol consumption, bad behaviour, conflict with residents and daytime parking pressures.

In some parts of New Zealand there have been complaints of freedom campers littering and defecating at park-up sites.

Auckland councillors have asked for a bylaw to manage freedom camping under a 2011 national law which aimed to open New Zealand up to it, unless there were good reasons for restrictions.

The council is playing catch-up to Wellington and 10 other local bodies which have implemented bylaws under the Freedom Camping Act.

Auckland Council officials are writing a bylaw to permit travellers for 13 sites — including Dudding Park Sports Field at Northcote Point, Rosedale Park and 11 places in Rodney — where people will be able to free-camp in cars and other “nonself-contained” vehicles.

At a further 94 sites, which includes Western Springs Reserve, Fowlds Park in

Mt Albert, Eric Armishaw Park in Pt Chevalier, and Stanmore Bay Park, travellers would be allowed to park if their caravan or campervan is selfcontained. That includes having a water tank, a toilet and a wastewater tank — and a certificate to prove it.

A maximum stay of two nights per four weeks is proposed, or one night during busy periods.

Freedom camping will be banned at more than 300 sites, including at Coyle Park, Pt Chevalier, Fort Takapuna Reserve and Bucklands Beach Domain. This leaves potentially hundreds of parks where the only controls on freedom camping would be “general rules” that are expected to permit only selfcontained vehicles, or case-by-case restrictions that might be sought from the Government under the Reserves Act. However, use is expected to be low if they are not promoted for freedom camping. Two of those are Phyllis Reserve in Mt Albert and Akoranga Reserve in Northcote.

“A number of local boards expressed strong views opposing freedom camping and requested more sites, and in some instances whole local board areas, to be scheduled as prohibited,” council officers say in a report to the regulatory committee.

“This approach would not comply with the legislation.”

The Freedom Camping Act doesn’t permit a blanket ban; any restrictions have to be in proportion to perceived problems.

The new Auckland Supercity bylaw would replace a mish-mash of bylaws inherited from the previous city, district and regional councils that generally imposed a simple ban on camping unless it was specifically permitted in certain areas.

Albert-Eden Local Board chairman Peter Haynes said it was opposed to freedom camping in virtually all the area’s parks.

The board’s main concern was the council’s enforcement of bylaws.