Devastated residents of a much-loved Hawke’s Bay campground put their belongings into vehicles or their cabins on to the back of trucks after they were given 24 hours to vacate because of landslide risk.
The Hastings District Council’s call at Clifton Motor Camp’s number one campground near Cape Kidnappers comes less than a month after a deadly landslide at a campground at Mount Maunganui.
A letter given to campground residents on Thursday said an independent geotechnical report had found a high risk of landslides affecting “much, and possibly all of the campground”.
“Buildings and caravans are located very close to the base of the slope.
“If the slope fails, debris could reach and impact these structures.”
The letter said it would likely take millions of dollars of major engineering and drainage works to make the area safe.
“Because of the seriousness and immediacy of the risk, council has advised that all occupants vacate the campground within 24 hours.”
Piki Wellwood-King, a Clifton Reserve Society board member, directed all questions to the council on Friday morning.
She said 18 people lived at the campground permanently and residents of the camp were “devastated”.
A second section of the camp, known as the No 2 camp, was not required to evacuate.
The eviction of residents came as Hawke’s Bay was placed under a heavy rain watch, with a chance of thunderstorms and localised downpours of 25 to 40mm an hour.
A council spokesperson said an inspection of at-risk sites was triggered by the recent landslide tragedy in Tauranga, and the Clifton Motor Camp’s leaseholders identifying dangerous trees above the campground.
As part of that precautionary work, the council commissioned a preliminary geotechnical assessment of the Clifton Motor Camp No 1 site.
The assessment found the land above the campground to be highly unstable.
“Heavy or prolonged rain, elevated groundwater levels, or an earthquake could cause the slope to fail. If that occurred, soil, rocks and large trees would fall directly on to buildings and caravans located at the base of the slope,” the council spokesperson said.
“Because many structures are situated close to the hillside, there would be little warning and limited opportunity to escape safely.”
The council spokesperson said the site had experienced slips in the past, including one that damaged the toilet block and covered the playground area in April 2011.
In 2019, a slip from the Clifton Beach Cape Kidnappers escarpment put two tourists in hospital. The latest rain event caused one of the trees to fall and a small slip, the spokesperson said.
Council chief executive Nigel Bickle said the decision was based squarely on independent expert advice.
“This is not a knee-jerk reaction ... The advice is clear – the level of risk is extreme and cannot be ignored.”
The climate and risk had markedly changed for the worse since the earlier slip, Bickle said.
The previous land movement was assessed at the time as localised and manageable, but now geotechnical science, modelling and national risk guidance had progressed significantly - as had the knowledge that frequent and high-intensity rainfall events increased slope instability, he said.
“The assessment we have now reflects today’s knowledge and today’s climate realities. It presents a far more serious risk profile than what was understood previously.”
Bickle said the decision to require occupants to vacate was made by the leaseholders (the Clifton Reserve Society) and the landowner (the Hastings District Council).
Council staff were working with the society and support agencies to assist residents, including helping those who needed it to connect with accommodation and support services, co-ordinating practical arrangements, arranging security for the site, and enabling safe access for residents to retrieve personal belongings.
“We recognise this is distressing for the people who use the campground, some for many decades,” Bickle said.
“But when expert advice tells us there is a credible threat to life, we have a responsibility to act.”
Hastings Mayor Wendy Schollum said there was understandable shock among the community at the speed at which the council had to work to ensure people’s safety.
“I’d much rather be here standing today facing our community and answering their hard questions than offering condolences,” she said.
The manager of business projects, planning and delivery at the council, Dean Ferguson, said his team was currently looking at other campsites in the council’s territory to identify risks around those sites as well, including at campgrounds in Waipātiki.
Clifton Motor Camp resident Campbell Burns has lived at the campground for three years.
He received his letter from the council on Thursday about 8.30pm.
“I was eating my dinner here and got a knock on the door, and outside there are six of our fellow campers all looking fairly long-faced, and they handed me the piece of paper.
“Honestly, I’m still in shock. I’m just walking around the place trying to work out next moves,” he said on Friday.
He lives in a caravan with an awning, which he has turned into his home. He said all his belongings were there.
“I’ve put a lot of my heart and soul into this place, and it’s all just a bit shocking.
“And like a lot of us out here, there is not much of a Plan B.
“Fortunately, I have a lot of friends that are trying to step up, but the fact is I’m going to be living out the back of my car for a while until I find something else.”
Retired Napier businesswoman Colleen Carson has a family history at Clifton going back four generations.
She and husband Ken, who died in mid-2024, had a permanent site going back 18 years and had lived their summers there since about 2017, while maintaining a home in Napier, post-retirement from their panelbeating business in Greenmeadows.
“For a lot of people, this is their happy place,” she said. “This is my happy place. I’m devastated.”
She was at the camp when council staff arrived to tell residents, but she only learned of the situation when told by representatives of the reserve committee during the evening.
Kyle Sykes was north of Gisborne when he received the news that his family were about to lose the bach they had purchased only a year ago. He quickly came back to pack up.
“We bought this place because my wife obviously has cancer. This was her sanctuary,” he said while holding back tears.
“This is just absolutely devastating. Financially, just a massive, massive blow, I tell you. This was going to be our retirement little place.”
Clifton Marine Club had also been told to evacuate, but its president, Graeme Johnson, said he was staying positive about the future of the fishing club, located inside the Clifton camp.
“The clubhouse is nowhere near the bank, and our 200 members drive in and out, they don’t sleep there, so although the Marine Club facilities and boat ramp are closed along with the camp, I believe we have grounds to negotiate with the council in the coming weeks for the future of our club,” Johnson said.