Popular camping spot back up and running
Despite fears McKee Memorial Reserve may be closed for good, the damage from Cyclone Fehi has been repaired and the site will reopen by Labour Day.
Time to air out that tent – the popular McKee Memorial Recreation Reserve, near Nelson, is on track to reopen to campers in October.
‘‘We’re hoping to be open for Labour Day,’’ Tasman District Council horticultural officer Richard Hilton told councillors at the community development committee meeting on Thursday. ‘‘We should be all set to go for this summer.’’
Closed since just before former tropical cyclone Fehi hit the NelsonTasman region on February 1, the reserve is a prized camping spot, picnic area and low-tide walking area for visitors and residents of the region. The council-owned campground, which is relatively cheap at $6 per person a night, with youngsters under 16 free, is always full over the key summer period.
Already prone to flooding, the picturesque seaside site was hammered by the remnants of Fehi on February 1, being inundated by stormwater as well as seawater.
‘‘This inundation resulted in the sewerage system being flooded, large trees being killed by salt damage, siltation of roads and grassed areas, and damage to play equipment and picnic tables,’’ a council staff report said.
The damage was so great that, at one stage, the possibility was raised of closing the campground permanently.
However, that scenario hasn’t eventuated and the work completed at the site means it can now reopen.
The engineering team has flushed the sewerage pipes, the pumps have been replaced and sealed to prevent stormwater inundation, and the electrical system has been upgraded.
As a result, the system was now ‘‘operating sufficiently to allow for the reserve to reopen for camping’’, the staff report said.
Hilton told councillors that swales had been built to help handle stormwater runoff from the road and cliffs above the site. A resource consent had also been obtained to discharge the water to the sea.
The heavily damaged playground had been repaired. Dead and damaged trees had been removed, grass had been sown and ‘‘we have done some new planting’’. The cost of that work was ‘‘towards $100,000’’.
The staff report said that following a meeting with Fred McKee regarding the repairs and a proposal by the McKee family to re-establish a management committee, the family was now pleased with the reinstatement work and the council’s custodianship of the reserve so had withdrawn the request.
There was also a note of caution in the report: ‘‘Due to the location and low-lying coastal nature of the reserve, coupled with the current information regarding climate change and sea level rise, we may need to look closely at the resilience of the reserve for the continued use as a camping area.’’
Committee chairman Peter Canton believed ‘‘the whole community’s going to be pretty excited for Labour Weekend’’.
‘‘The whole community’s going to be pretty excited for Labour Weekend.’’ Peter Canton