Free camping site plan angers locals, divides West Coast council

Friday, 8 February 2019

Minister for Conservation and Land Information Eugenie Sage speaks at a freedom camping symposium in Nelson in April 2018.

Tourism operators are appealing for council-run freedom camping sites in Westland to be closed.

The Westland District Council set up two sites, with toilets and rubbish facilities, at Acre Creek between Greymouth and Hokitika and Waitaha in South Westland in January. They were funded by $780,000 from the Government Tourism Infrastructure Fund (TIF). Three more sites are planned for Bruce Bay, Hannah's Clearing and Paringa.

The council called an extraordinary meeting on Thursday to hear from accommodation providers on how they had been affected by the government-funded freedom camping sites.

Danish freedom campers Jakob Abildgaard and Stine Tolstrup stayed two nights at the Westland District Council's designated freedom camping site at Acre Creek between Greymouth and Hokitika.

Mayor Bruce Smith said the meeting was to allow camping facility providers in Westland to put their views to councillors who would consider possible solutions.

**READ MORE:

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About 50 people attended and 20 spoke to councillors about how their business was affected since the sites opened.

The new site at Acre Creek sits on State Highway 6, about a 15-minute drive to both Greymouth and Hokitika. Councillors heard 40 vehicles were usually camped in the car park overnight. The council bylaw states only 15 vehicles are allowed in the sites at any one time.

NOT A 'SHANTY TOWN'

Danni Eggeling said her family were hoping to set up an accommodation complex in Haast, which would employ up to 30 people.

The new sites were an eyesore and should be kept out of public view, she said.

It would ruin the 'clean and beautiful' environment in South Westland, which was a Unesco World Heritage Area.

'We want people to drive the Wild West Coast but you can't do that when you are packing them in like sardines,' she said.

'We need the rubbish bins and the toilets … we don't need people camped out on the side of the road in a shanty town.'

Roydon Dick, who owns Pukekura Lodge, between Hokitika and Franz Josef Glacier said business was down 70 per cent since the council had set up a freedom camping site at Waitaha beach five minutes away from his campground.

He told councillors the site should be closed down. The TIF funding was for facilities to cope with the influx of tourists, not to set up a campground in direct competition to its ratepayers, he said.

COUNCIL 'GOT IT WRONG'

Logan Skinner, who owns motels and camping grounds in Franz Josef, said freedom camping was doing 'huge' damage to the West Coast's natural wilderness brand.

He received widespread applause when he suggested the council keep the toilets and rubbish facilities at the sites for day trippers to have a picnic but to put up no camping signs.

The council should focus its efforts on educating freedom campers on where they could stay at registered camp grounds, he said.

Councillor Helen Lash said the new sites were set up with good intentions, but had turned into something that was causing a problem for locals.

Councillor Des Routhan said the council had made a mistake and should have spoken to tourism operators before setting up the sites.

'We had a pocketful of money and spent it and we are figuring out now that we got it wrong. We should have gone out and consulted ourselves,' he said.

Smith said the council had opened the freedom camping bylaw to public submissions but he was happy to hear feedback.

Staff were asked to investigate limiting freedom camping to self-contained vehicles only and to report back on February 28. They were also asked to investigate providing signage at the camping sites encouraging campers to stay at local accommodation providers.

PAY LESS, STAY LONGER

Danish tourists Stine Tolstrup and Jakob Abildgaard stayed at the Acre Creek site for two nights.

Tolstrup said the couple used the Campermate App to find free sites to park their van during their five-week trip around New Zealand.

'We pay for cheap campgrounds if we can't find a free one. But we already paid for the car to sleep in and don't want to pay for accommodation too. If we had to pay more we wouldn't be able to stay in New Zealand for so long,' she said.

The couple stayed all day at the site doing their laundry and waiting for friends, she said.

Abildgaard said all the Campermate reviews of the Acre Creek site warned about trucks and cars honking their horns as they went past during the night.

He thought it was angry locals who did not want them to stay there.

The site had previously been used as a stop for truck drivers to have a break.