‘Maintain the status quo’ Marlburi residents say about review of freedom camps

After pushing to review Marlborough’s wild camping sites, some residents are now calling for “maintaining the status quo.”

A total of 350 people introduced the Marlborough District Council draft of the free camp law last month, most opposing a plan to close controversial sites outside of Picton and Ward, but opening three new sites in the centers of both cities.

Bylaw changes were promised for the fourth time in 14 years after strong presentations against camping freedom during the annual plan process last year that were reflected again this year.

But several residents backtracked during hearings this week, calling for the proposed new sites on Picton High St, Picton Memorial Park and Ward Domain to be removed, and for sites on the Koromiko Recreation and Elterwater Reserves to be maintained.

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The president of the Picton Smart and Connected freedom camp group, Richard Briggs, said on Tuesday that during the second day of hearings, the community had changed its position on Koromiko.

The Koromiko site had drawn ire from residents for just under a decade for being often overcrowded, and the council even considered closing it in 2016, when the statute was last revised.

“The community now says that they would rather have Koromiko open as a wild camping site than have sites in the center of Picton town … We, as Picton Smart and Connected, think that the reserve should be returned to a reserve, not to a campsite. “

Picton Returnees and Services Association (RSA) president John McCarthy said he personally believed there was “nothing wrong” with the Koromiko site, other than concerns about traffic.

“[Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency] I don’t like having campsites on State Highway 1, especially one where tourists who are strangers to the country have to turn onto the highway. “

Picton RSA opposed the proposed Memorial Park site.

Picton resident Fredrick Wilson, who was developing sections near Memorial Park, asked that the Koromiko site remain open as “considerable funds” had been spent on it over the years.

Councilman David Oddie, who chaired the bylaws panel, told a submitter that the council needed a site in Picton to house the campers.

“We already have Koromiko there. Residents asked for it to be closed, but there seems to have been a change of opinion in the community, which now says it is working well and should not close. “

The council wanted to return it to a picnic area to reduce its impact on a nearby Queen Elizabeth II National Trust convention reserve.

Port Marlborough President Rhys Welbourn said the port opposed turning Memorial Park into a wild camping site, but that Koromiko could “address that need, if there is a need.”

“It is very close to the ferries, but it also allows people traveling south or north to stop and stay,” he said.

He said the port was interested in being part of a “think tank” that would look for alternative places to camp in the wild in Picton, which Picton Smart and Connected later offered to facilitate.

On Monday, during the first day of hearings, Flaxbourne Settlers Association President Stuart Oulton said that most residents were against the proposed Ward Domain war memorial site and wanted the Elterwater Reservation stay open.

“The feeling was that we’ve had Lake Elterwater as a wild camping site for some time, and that hasn’t caused any problems in the community. Maintaining the status quo would be best. “

The council had proposed closing the Elterwater Preserve as it was on NZTA land and could not be controlled by its staff.

Longtime Ward resident Pip Thompson said reserving was a “much better option” than trying to “push” a site to the domain.

Neighborhood farmer John Hickman, whose family donated the site’s land, said keeping it under the council’s control was a “mutual benefit.”

“If it can be managed properly, the site will maintain the freedom to camp and keep campers away from the domain, but it will still allow the district to take advantage of the money they spend.”

The site could even get bigger, he said.

Hearings on the draft statute close Wednesday at 5 p.m., with the expectation that the statute will be in effect before the summer.