Last chance to have your say on Freedom Camping in the district
Ōpōtiki District Council has extended consultation for an additional two weeks on its proposed new Freedom Camping Bylaw.
Consultation on the draft bylaw took place in May and June this year and the feedback provided valuable insights and an opportunity to review aspects of the draft.
Council’s Strategy and Development Group Manager, Antoinette Campbell explained that due to the sorts of changes that had been made to the draft, council wanted to offer an additional opportunity for formal submissions.
“We had around 50 submissions, which is great to have that level of engagement with interested parties. We think that these people will be the most interested in the changes and we’ve been in touch directly with those submitters, but it may be that other people are also interested in the changes and want to have another look at what we are proposing in the bylaw,” Ms Campbell said.
One of the changes to the draft bylaw since June has been aligned with national legislation, starting from a position that ‘freedom camping is allowed except where it is prohibited’.
On that basis, council has carried out some site analysis of council land (or land managed by council) where people may want to freedom camp. This site analysis indicates that several further areas are not appropriate for freedom camping in the District, so we will continue to only recommend the four locations with amenities: Te Ahiaua Reserve (Pipi Beds), Hikuwai Reserve, Hoani Waititi Reserve (Omaio), and Te Kaha Reserve (Maraetai Bay).
“The draft Freedom Camping Bylaw aims to balance environmental impact, public safety, and community wellbeing; allowing for freedom camping in our district while protecting our natural spaces and places. We think that the draft bylaw finds this balance and we’d like people to take a look and provide their feedback before 22 September,” Ms Campbell said.
You can read the full draft bylaw, changes made following public consultation, the site assessments in full and provide your feedback on the councils Connect | Hono Mai website.
