100 new camping grounds in offing

The Government may use public land to provide as many as 100 new camping grounds as increasing numbers of prime sites are sold to private property developers.

Conservation Minister Chris Carter said yesterday that he was becoming increasingly concerned that family-oriented camping grounds were disappearing in the face of rapid development, particularly in coastal areas of the North Island.

A Department of Conservation review announced yesterday will investigate whether existing DoC camping facilities are sufficient to compensate for the loss of privately owned camping grounds.

If not, DoC land could be used to make up the shortage.

Mr Carter said coastal areas in Northland, Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty would receive extra attention in the review, as it was in these areas "there has been the most pressure on private operators".

The review was likely to be completed by April.

The department would work with private camping grounds, recreation groups, local authorities and tourism operators, but the report was not intended to undermine privately owned campsites, he said.

"The aim is ... to work alongside the camping sector to ensure the iconic Kiwi camping experience remains available for as many people as possible."

The department owns 235 "vehicle-accessible" camping areas, about four of which are privately managed.

But Mr Carter said a sizeable boost to that number was likely.

"I have to be able to sell it to my [Cabinet] colleagues ... but if it [the review] revealed we needed 100, then that is a figure I would be very comfortable with."

In the past few years several popular camping grounds on prime coastal land have been sold, including sites at Whangarei Heads, Whangamata and Hot Water Beach.

National Party leader Don Brash last year called on DoC to open 25 new camping grounds, a suggestion Mr Carter described at the time as "not a bad idea".

Dr Brash said in March that the department could lease public land to private camping ground operators, who would carry the cost of setting the camps up.

This looks likely to happen with new camping grounds established as a result of the present review.

A spokesman for Mr Carter said the department would probably not get involved in the day-to-day running of camping grounds, "unless they were fairly basic".

Prices at the new grounds would be set during case-by-case negotiations with prospective managers, but Mr Carter said the Government would expect prices to be kept to a minimum.

He said he was "really conscious" of low-income campers

"Camping is a vitally important recreation opportunity for families of more modest means, and a traditional part of the Kiwi summer."

He said DoC had been formulating the review for "a year or so", but held off on publicity until the holiday season.

Department of Conservation technical support officer Steve Sutton said he did not know how much the review would cost, but believed it could force DoC to "reprioritise" some of its workload.

"The point of the exercise is to try to understand what kind of demand for camping there is."

Campsite search

* A review of camping grounds has begun to find out if there are enough around the country.
* More Department of Conservation land may be made available for public camping.
* The Government says it is keen to keep prices low.
* It may lease campsites to private operators and negotiate fees with them.