Whanganui District Council adopts freedom camping by-law

The Freedom Camping bylaw prohibits camping at Blyth St and Pukenamu Drive in order to protect the locations. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui District Council has formally adopted a freedom camping by-law to protect sites in the district, so they can be enjoyed by locals and visitors alike, it says.

The council's corporate group manager, Stephanie Macdonald-Rose, said the by-law introduces regulation where there was previously none.

"Under the Freedom Camping Act 2011, Whanganui District Council cannot place a blanket ban on freedom camping but it can create a by-law to regulate it.

"Our aim with the by-law is to protect our public places and access to those places for everyone in our community, as well as visitors to our district."

Macdonald-Rose said a balanced approach had been taken.

"The by-law only regulates the areas where we have seen a high level of freedom campers, have received a high level of complaints or public feedback, or are protecting a place or access to a place."

The freedom camping by-law limits how long freedom campers can stay at any one site to no more than four nights in a four-week period. It also restricts the number of freedom camping spots at sites and includes buffer zones – where camping is not allowed – around freedom camping sites.

After receiving public submissions, councillors decided to prohibit freedom camping at Blyth St and Pukenamu Drive in order to protect these important Whanganui locations.

In addition to the freedom camping by-law and in response to concerns surrounding homelessness, the council will work with Safer Whanganui to develop guidance for council staff to ensure homeless people are not detrimentally affected by the administration of the by-law.

Where homelessness was identified, the council planned to work with key support agencies including the Ministry of Social Development.

"The Freedom Camping by-law process involved extensive public engagement to take into account the needs of various community groups," Macdonald-Rose said.

The Freedom Camping By-law comes into effect on November 1, 2021.