Controversial freedom camping extension in Evans Bay, Wellington approved

Wellington City Council will build a new public toilet and appoint a freedom camping ranger to police the Evans Bay Marina carpark area. Photo / Mark Mitchell.

A controversial proposal to extend a freedom camping area in a Wellington bay has been given the green light by councillors.

Wellington City Council has received more than 60 submissions on its public places bylaw review, which includes a proposal to increase freedom camping facilities at Evans Bay Marina.

In a city strategy committee meeting this morning, members agreed to extend the parking area to allow more freedom campers, as well to build a new public toilet and appoint a freedom camping ranger to police the area.

Once signed off by the council, the area will redesigned to include five extra parking spaces, with a maximum of 20 large vehicle parks for campervans and motorhomes.

Vehicles parking in the area can be no longer than 7m and must be certified as self contained to a particular standard.

Residents who say they're losing their boating paradise to freedom campers who are using properties as toilets and riding private cable cars as a short cut have opposed the extension, though 78 per cent of submissions council received were in favour of it.

At today's meeting, councillors expressed concern over spending money to provide areas and facilities to freedom campers without getting anything back from it.

"We're stuck with freedom camping to some degree," said councillor Peter Gilberd.

A 1985 piece of legislation on freedom camping means the council cannot charge for use of the area, as they must provide a free camping spot.

He said appointing a ranger would help with issues around littering, and the ranger would be able to check vehicles were self-contained to the appropriate standard, and enforce the bylaw.

Councillor Simon Marsh said he hoped waste and rubbish issues would be addressed by having a ranger for the area.

Councillor Sarah Free added an amendment to the proposal that council investigate the possibility of including mobility parks in the area as well, and councillor Andy Foster included an amendment for council to look into whether there was any way to recover some of the costs of providing the area, which included $300,000 to build the new toilet.

"A lot of this is really the lowest level of tourism in terms of the benefit that we get," Foster said, adding that freedom campers were usually trying to "do it on the cheap" so were not putting much money into the local community.

He said some also had "masquerading" stickers falsely certifying their vehicles were properly self-contained.

Councillor Malcolm Sparrow was the only committee member who did not vote for the extension, saying he could not approve the building of a public toilet in the area when other, rate-paying residents in different parts of the city had been asking for a public toilet for a long time.

"If I voted to support the $300,000 proposal for toilets, I couldn't face with a clear conscience the older Linden residents who constantly accost me about the need for public toilets in the area.

"If I can't tell those elderly residents we can meet their needs then I'm not going to support a $300,000 toilet for non-ratepayers."