Councillor: public heard on camping
A QUEENSTOWN Lakes District councillor has assured the community the council has heard its concerns over careless freedom campers.
Crs Scott Stevens (chairman), Alexa Forbes and Craig Ferguson heard submissions on the proposed amendments to the council’s Freedom Camping Control Bylaw and the ArrowtownLake Hayes Reserve Management Plan earlier this week.
The amendments sought to ban freedom camping from Lake Hayes and the Shotover Delta after temporary measures — gates locked between 10pm and 5.30am daily — were introduced at both areas in February.
Fortyseven submissions were received on the proposal — 36 in support and 11 in opposition.
However, many aspects of the submissions were outside the scope of the hearing.
After the meeting Cr Stevens said while many submissions went beyond the prohibition of freedom camping at Lake Hayes and Shotover Delta, it was ‘‘most likely’’ the council would be asked to feed all submissions into its draft Responsible Camping Strategy, expected to be reported to the council next month.
The strategy also included the Central Otago and Southland district councils, the Department of Conservation (Doc), Land Information New Zealand and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
It aimed to promote the sustainable use of the environment for visitor and community experience through wellmanaged, coordinated and responsible camping in the district.
‘‘We hope that that will be the kind of response to the issues that we’re facing that the community . . . will be waiting for,’’ Cr Stevens said.
The council could only control council land; it could not stop freedom camping at sites like Diamond Lake or Moke Lake, owned by Doc.
‘‘We need to be working in conjunction with our partners, and that’s where that strategy comes in.
‘‘We will, most likely, be recommending . . . to full council that these submissions [received before Monday’s hearing] are used to help inform our strategy.
‘‘Hopefully that gives people . . . comfort that we’re not working in isolation on this one little part of the freedom camping issue, it’s all linked in and we do very much hear and appreciate the feedback that the community and interested parties . . . give us.’’