Freedom camping is to be banned over the summer holidays at Bowentown's idyllic Anzac Bay, the Western Bay of Plenty District Council decided today.
The decision to prohibit self-contained motor homes from the start of the third week of December to February 10 followed public feedback that the bay looked like a camping ground over the summer.
"It is one of the region's idyllic spots, a beautiful place and sacred to Maori," Councillor Margaret Murray-Benge said.
The council also decided to further restrict where vans could park overnight for the rest of the year. Freedom campers will be restricted to 525 sq m area of the central parkland inside the bay's ring road.
A time lapse camera linked to a computer will be installed in Anzac Bay to enable council staff to check that campers were abiding by the new rules.