Freedom camper Cheryl Goes with her cabin-caravan at the Foreshore Reserve in Napier. Photo / Gary Hamilton-Irvine
Freedom camper Cheryl Goes with her cabin-caravan at the Foreshore Reserve in Napier. Photo / Gary Hamilton-Irvine
Proposed changes to Napier’s freedom camping rules could curb tourists’ enthusiasm for the city, a camper says.
Napier City Council decided on Thursday to put its draft Freedom Camping Bylaw 2024 out for public consultation, which proposes tightening up rules and sites for freedom campers.
Under the proposed changes, non-self-contained vehicles such as vans and campervans without a fixed toilet would be banned from using freedom camping spots across Napier.
Currently, there are four designated freedom camping sites across the city, three of which are for self-contained vehicles only, including Napier Pump Track off Marine Parade (which is the busiest spot attracting about 8000 visitors per year), Perfume Point, and Westshore Reserve (which is temporarily shut).
The fourth site, Foreshore Reserve, south of the Napier Pump Track, caters for non-self-contained vehicles and a 24/7 public toilet is available at that site.
Despite attracting 3000 visitors during the 12 months to June 2024, Foreshore Reserve would be permanently shut to freedom campers under the changes, and Westshore Reserve would also be closed. The public toilet at Foreshore Reserve would remain open.
A new freedom camping site in Napier would be added to balance the closures, and the council’s preferred new location is the National Aquarium of NZ carpark, where four parks could be set aside for self-contained vehicles.
Council papers also cited factors such as protecting the environment and “safety concerns” for closing the Foreshore and Westshore sites, adding “significant safety improvements” would be required to make them “more viable”.
Freedom camper Cheryl Goes, who is based in Opotiki but spends most of her time on the road, recently stayed at the Foreshore Reserve site.
Goes, 65, said she travelled alone and did not feel unsafe staying at that location or similar spots.
She said it would be a shame to see it closed.
While she has a self-contained vehicle and can stay at other sites, she said the changes could hinder tourists from coming to the city in hired vans or campervans without a fixed toilet.
“You are hurting your own [tourism],” she said.
She said it could also lead to travellers that don’t have a self-contained vehicle to “sneak” and park illegally elsewhere.
She said there was a perception that freedom campers don’t spend money when they visit, but she believed that was false.
For example, she said she would spend $100 in town eating out and buying coffee during a couple of nights in Napier.
Meanwhile, other councils, such as Tauranga and Gisborne, have prohibited non-self-contained vehicles from freedom camping.
People will be able to have a say on the draft Freedom Camping Bylaw 2024 from Monday to November 29.
Council will consider the submissions at a hearing in February next year before deciding whether to approve changes to its bylaw.
As part of the consultation, the council wants to hear other suggestions for a new freedom camping site, and is open to changing to another location instead of the aquarium. The council looked at 18 sites before landing on the aquarium carpark as its preferred new option.
As well as designated freedom camping locations, campers can stay one night at some other locations around the city with a self-contained vehicle, although it can be tricky to decipher which spots are legal.
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.
