'Contentious' freedom camping to come before Motueka community board

Friday, 14 February 2020

Freedom camping is an increasingly popular practice in Golden Bay and Motueka.

Motueka Community Board members are due to discuss freedom camping just days after their Golden Bay colleagues called for the practice to be banned across most of the Bay.

'That's one of the issues that both our boards are interested in,' said Motueka board chairman Brent Maru, adding he had included responsible camping in his report for discussion this coming Tuesday, at the first Motueka Community Board meeting of 2020.

The Golden Bay Community Board on Tuesday this week called for a ban on freedom camping across almost all of the Bay. Chairwoman Abbie Langford said board members also agreed to request that a review of the Tasman District Council Freedom Camping Bylaw 'be brought forward urgently, due to the negative social and environmental impact [of freedom camping] on Golden Bay'.

In the public forum section of a Tasman District Council meeting on Thursday, Maru said freedom camping was a 'very contentious' issue in Motueka.

Motueka board chairman Brent Maru says freedom camping is an issue of interest for both the Motueka and Golden Bay community boards.

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Decks Reserve car park is a popular designated freedom camping site in Motueka.

He described the comments made by the board on the other side of Takaka Hill as a 'very bold statement from our brothers and sisters in Golden Bay'.

On Friday, Maru told Stuff he could not say if the Motueka board members would make such a bold statement as they had not yet met for the year. There was no draft resolution attached to his report.

Some members of the Motueka and Golden Bay boards met informally in mid-January to discuss topics the boards had in common including responsible camping and housing. It is part of a proposal for the two boards to work collaboratively on areas of mutual interest.

Meanwhile, at the council meeting on Thursday, chief executive Janine Dowding removed a section of a draft resolution in her report about the Waitapu Bridge freedom camping site in Golden Bay. The section related to a staff proposal to limit the numbers at the Waitapu Bridge site to 50 vehicles and tents collectively per night.

Dowding said on further reflection, staff believed such a move required consideration under the Freedom Camping Bylaw 'so we're recommending we remove it and we bring a report back to you at the March meeting'.