Hidden cost from axing rates relief: racing club

THE Dunedin City Council’s decision to cut rates relief for the Otago Racing Club may mean the council’s freedom camping headache gets worse.

The club has space for up to 15 camping vehicles a night at Wingatui racecourse.

But after reevaluating its budgets after losing more that $8000 of annual rates relief, the club is looking to turf out freedomstyle campers.

The move could add to the freedom camping dilemma the council already has.

The council proposed three new freedom camping sites, including one at Puddle Alley near Wingatui, but has abandoned those plans following public outcry.

The club charged $15 a night per vehicle for camping at Wingatui race course, chief executive Hannah Catchpole said. Freedomstyle camping vehicles with no selfcontained facilities, that were loaded with travellers, made up 90% of visitors.

The freedom campers made such a mess the club lost money on them and wanted to exclude them and instead welcome selfcontained camping vehicles.

To further offset the loss of its rates relief, the club removed the public toilets sign from outside the racecourse entrance, and closed them to the public.

Ms Catchpole said the cost of cleaning the toilets was now unsustainable.

The council said that it was not fazed by the loss of the Wingatui public toilets nor how the club made use of its camping operation.

‘‘With regard to both the toilets and freedom camping, it is completely up to the club to make decisions around the public use of its facilities,’’ council community development and events manager Joy Gunn said.

The council would not comment on whether the racing club’s exclusion of freedomstyle campers would have a direct effect on its management of freedom campers.

Ms Catchpole said part of the financial strain of having freedom campers at Wingatui was that the $15 fee was charged per vehicle rather than per person.

Although taking in freedom style campers was financially unsustainable, it was a cost the club had been happy to absorb before it lost its rates relief. Now it had to cut costs, she said.

Raising camping fees was not the answer because freedom campers would rather take their chances camping elsewhere than pay more, she said.