At least one Wānaka resident is “over the moon” a temporary ban has been placed on freedom camping in her neighbourhood.
On Friday, the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) announced it had banned freedom camping at the Allenby Pl carpark, at the foot of the Mt Iron walkway, from January 23 until April 30.
Allenby Park resident Mary-Louise Schroder has previously spoken out about the constant trail of campervans into the carpark, describing it as “absolute madness”.
Yesterday Ms Schroder said she was “over the moon”.
“My husband and I have been putting a lot of pressure on the council,” she said.
“We’ve been complaining to them every day.
“The response from QLDC directly to us has been very poor. The only member talking to us directly has been [deputy mayor] Quentin Smith.
“I am just thrilled about the fact they have decided to bring a halt to it, but I think there will still be campervans trying to park there.”
QLDC chief executive Mike Theelen said while the council’s new freedom camping bylaw had been “largely doing its job”, in the six weeks since it came into force it had become clear “the narrowness of the accessway into the Allenby Pl carpark was causing issues”.
The freedom camping bylaw was designed to direct visitors to 15 pre-determined sites and keep campervans off most residential streets.
But Allenby Pl had experienced access and health and safety issues due to increased traffic “that are unique to the layout of this area”, he said.
Mr Theelen said council staff and partner agencies would continue to work together to monitor the effectiveness of the new bylaw.
The temporary ban at Allenby Pl would give the council time to determine the long-term suitability of the site.
Because the council was temporarily removing the three designated spaces at Allenby Pl, the council would temporarily add three extra spaces at the Wānaka Recreation Centre carpark for the duration of the ban, he said.
Signs would be updated and there would be online communication and changes made to the council’s website, he said.