Council receives money from Government to help manage freedom camping

The council has been granted $340,000 to help manage freedom camping over the summer. Photo/File

The Western Bay of Plenty District Council has been granted $340,000 to help manage freedom camping this summer.

The council applied to the Government for additional funding through the Tourism Facilities Development Grants Fund to manage and improve facilities and monitoring for the increasing numbers of freedom campers in the Western Bay.

The funding is part of an $8.5 million funding package announced by the Government this week for nationwide initiatives to be put in place in time for the coming summer.

Western Bay of Plenty mayor Garry Webber said this application for funding was a staff initiative to generate additional funding to meet the increasing needs of freedom camping in the Western Bay.

"Clearly the $340,000 is proof that we have put our case very well to Government.," he said.

The council's reserves and facilities manager Peter Watson said the $340,000 for the Western Bay will fund a KiwiCamp facility in Waihi Beach, plus increase district-wide monitoring and smart compactor bins at freedom camping sites.

The KiwiCamp facility will be built by Christmas and will provide showers, toilets, dishwashing and laundry facilities, access to potable water, waste and recycling, power charging and wireless internet - all in one place.

"The KiwiCamp model allows running costs to be recovered through a charge system – Kiwicash – a simple pay-as-you-go solution that gives campers great facilities – paid for by freedom campers,'' Watson said.

"This will help us manage freedom camping in the Waihi Beach area which is where the greatest number of compliance issues arise for council over the peak of summer.''

There are 47 freedom camping sites across the Western Bay district governed by the council's Freedom Camping Bylaw which requires all freedom camping to be in self-contained vehicles. The council employs a security firm from October to March to monitor and ensure compliance with the bylaw.

The Government's funding results from a national working group's report that highlights the place of freedom camping in New Zealand, its contribution to the tourism industry and ways it could be better managed this summer season and in the longer term through legislative changes.

The working group acknowledged the importance of protecting and retaining campers' rights to access and use of public spaces but that the current system could be improved.

The $8.5 million funding will cover:
- Infrastructure, education and enforcement projects identified and to be implemented by 28 councils across the country.
- Marketing and education managed by Tourism New Zealand to provide information to campers on expected behaviour.
- A data and technology-driven pilot that will provide real-time updates on the availability of campsites in some important tourist destinations.