Bay of Plenty freedom camping: ‘Enormous economic benefits’, council hears

Matatā caravanner Rod Meharry says Whakatāne district is missing a trick by not working with motorhome and caravan groups to bring more freedom campers to the area. Photo / Troy Baker

Attracting caravanners could have “enormous economic benefits” for the Whakatāne district, says a Matatā local.

Grey nomads - highly mobile, retired or semi-retired couples wishing to explore New Zealand, socialise, eat out and shop - made up the biggest number of motorhome owners in the country, Rod Meharry told the Whakatāne District Council’s living together committee in his submission to its updated Freedom Camping Bylaw.

He said the New Zealand Motor Caravan Association had more than 120,000 such members and was the biggest, but not the only such organisation in the country.

“I should imagine that all of those members have Whakatāne and the East Coast on their bucket list,” Meharry said.

“Whether they stop in Whakatāne for a night or two nights or whether they stop in Ōpōtiki where there’s a motorhome association park is really up to the bylaws that exist in this town.”

Meharry said opportunities were at their height when there was an event being held in the district, such as a fishing competition, for example. The association often partnered with local councils to provide temporary facilities for large numbers of freedom campers in a park or reserve.

“You can tape an area off for RV parking for the weekend. You are tapping into a market that is mobile. Depending on how well you do it, you could swell your event by hundreds of people.

“At Mystery Creek the other day they had over 2000 motorhomes move in, and that’s huge disposable income.”

Meharry said establishing a KiwiCamp (recently rebranded to Penny) similar to the one at TECT Park, between Tauranga and Rotorua, would help free up highly desirable freedom camping sites which are currently fully occupied with people living permanently in their vehicles.

“Freedom camping bylaws don’t apply to homeless people.”

He said in his view that was where the problem lay, “because they move into desirable areas and they create havoc through accumulation of rubbish, drinking, fighting and they can’t be moved on.

“What I’m trying to say to the council is, work with KiwiCamp to set up a facility here, where people can feel safe and have access to facilities. People purchase a tag that allows them access and to use facilities or the council could subsidise their gate entry. They’ll go there because of the amenities.”

Meharry’s was one of 81 submissions to the council’s updated bylaw.

Proposed changes include increasing the two-night maximum stay over a four-week period to three nights, prohibiting freedom camping in the Awatarariki debris flow area in Matatā and at Rex Morpeth Park in Whakatāne, increasing the areas of West End, Ocean Rd and Port Ōhope Reserve where freedom camping is prohibited and allowing freedom camping at the Edgecumbe domain.

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.