Freedom campers will be banned from sections of the South Wairarapa coast under new rules.
South Wairarapa District Council has adopted a bylaw that will prohibit freedom camping along some stretches of coastline and in central town locations, and restrict it in other places.
New Zealand’s freedom camping laws currently allow camping on all council land unless specifically prohibited.
The bylaw gives council officers the power to enforce regulations through infringements and fines.
The council has also received funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment for the development and implementation of a Freedom Camping Ambassador Programme.
This would enable community members to support the monitoring and enforcement strategy.
At a South Wairarapa District Council’s strategy working committee meeting on Wednesday, staff said the bylaw would help address the problems caused by freedom camping in a local and appropriate way and would be enforced in a "reactive way" if complaints were received about campers.
The council did not previously have a bylaw relating to freedom camping.
Councillor Aaron Woodcock and Māori Standing Committee representative Violet Edwards voted against the bylaw and councillor Pip Maynard abstained.
The intent of the bylaw was to enable the council to regulate and enforce how and where freedom camping happened within the district.
It proposed to preserve the status quo at existing coastal camping areas while respecting the new Freedom Camping Act and offering protection to vulnerable areas, particularly along the coast.
No freedom camping allowed here
Included in areas where freedom camping would be prohibited were: Martinborough Square and Clifford Square reserves, a 25km section of Cape Pallier Rd up to and including the lighthouse car park, and large areas of the Tora-Te Awaiti Coast.
In particular, under the bylaw, freedom camping would be prohibited on Tora Farm Settlement Rd and road reserve, Te Awaiti Rd and road reserve, Ngapotiki Rd and road reserve, the section of White Rock Rd and road reserve adjacent to the coast between the Opouawe River and the Whawanui River.
Freedom camping was still allowed, with restrictions, at the following coastal reserves: Te Awaiti, North ToraSouth Tora, White Rock, Ngawi, Ngawi Surf Breaks, and Lake Domain.
Freedom camping restrictions would apply to South Wairarapa townships.
The land at Ocean Beach was Department of Conservation land which did not come under the definition of Local Authority Land and was therefore out of scope of the bylaw.
For further details on the bylaw, and for maps showing prohibited and restricted areas for freedom camping, check the council’s website.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
SHARE ME