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CHLOE RANFORD / LDR
Double Bay residents, left to right, Vic Koller, Kevin Wilson, Kathryn Omond and Matthew Omond asked the council to close the Freedom campground in their bay.
Keeping a wild camping site open in the Marlborough Sounds violates national rules that require protection of the “friendliness” of reserves, a lawyer said at a hearing.
But one councilman cautioned that that line of argument would mean that most of the Marlborough District Council’s free camps in the Sounds “would have to disappear” as they are also on reservations.
A hearing panel met this week to discuss a free camp bill, which would close four free camps in Marlborough.
The discussions escalated Wednesday when Double Bay residents, fed up with campers defecating in their yards and stealing their water, pleaded for their site to be included in the closures.
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Simon Gaines, legal representative for Double Bay residents, said city councils had to provide reserve areas, such as Double Bay, for “public enjoyment” under the Reservations Act.
It also had to manage and protect the reserves and preserve their natural environment and pleasure.
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Washing hung by Liberty Campers on the reservation at Double Bay.
Keeping the Double Bay liberty camp open under the new ordinance would be inconsistent with these rules, he said.
“There is no way to avoid the conflict between Freedom Camping and the Reservations Laws other than to resolve in favor of the Reservations Law,” he said Wednesday.
CHLOE RANFORD / LDR
Double Bay resident Kathryn Omond says Freedom Campground has “significant” negative impacts on nearby residents.
“To conclude that it is okay to have Double Bay available for free camps, the council should downplay expert opinion, ignore evidence from residents, and be deaf to the voice of taxpayers.”
Councilman and hearing panel chair David Oddie said that if he ruled in favor of the Reserves Act, most of the freedom camps in the Sounds would close.
An independent expert hired by the council to conduct a region-wide review recommended that its Double Bay and Ohingaroa Bay sites should be closed to better align with the Reserves Act.
Double Bay campers posted the most violation notices in the past three years, second only to Ohingaroa Bay and Koromiko Recreation Reserve.
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Residents often bury human waste left behind by freedom campers.
The ordinance proposes the closure of free campgrounds in the Koromiko Recreation Reserve, Brown River Reserve, Elterwater Reserve and Ohauparuparu Bay. It would also ban campers on Marfells Beach Rd and Grovetown Lagoon.
Council staff said earlier this year that they knew some Double Bay residents weren’t concerned about the site, so they didn’t suggest shutting it down, but said that could change during the hearing process if there was enough public support.
Kathryn Omond, who represents 25 Double Bay residents, said they did not know why the expert’s opinion was ignored.
“The negative impacts on us are significant and ongoing.
BRYA INGRAM / THINGS
Residents are close to the reserve.
“The natural environment is regularly used as a wastewater dump … and the quality of life is nowhere near what it should be,” he said Wednesday.
Double Bay resident Christine Hall choked on describing how she felt “unsafe” in her own home.
Campers would often knock on her door asking for food or water, to do laundry, to use her wi-fi, or to camp on her lawn.
“The freedom campers have taken my freedom.”
BRYA INGRAM / THINGS
Double Bay is located in Marlborough Sounds.
She and her husband planned to sell their autonomous motorhome as the free camp had “lost all appeal.”
“My willingness to help Freedom campers changed the day a vehicle got stuck… They took shovels from our garage to free themselves. We only found out about this when a neighbor came to return the tools to our property ”.
Longtime Double Bay resident Vic Koller said that after nine years of supporting the site, he had “seen common sense.”
“I have given up. Freedom Camping is not working,” he said.
CHLOE RANFORD / LDR
Double Bay resident Vic Koller says he has “given up” on the site.
Maggie Curteis, who lives adjacent to the Double Bay site, said that while up to six vehicles were allowed to park at the site each night, this had been exceeded in recent weeks.
“They still continue to defecate in the reserve, on the beach and in our gardens, although there is a bathroom on site … Our properties have become an extension of the camp.”
Double Bay residents were supported by Moetapu Community Association President Kevin Wilson, who represents 144 residents in the area, who want the site closed.
Hearings on the draft statute ended Wednesday.
The statute is expected to be in effect before summer.
