Warrington Domain with 50 vehicles [image supplied – click to enlarge]
FIFTY vehicles add over 100 people a night to the small Warrington township of roughly 400 permanent residents – with no local shops or retail facilities that benefit. The cost to Dunedin Ratepayers in servicing the Domain for freedom campers is the subject of a recent LGOIMA request, included below. Some nights there are 75 vehicles parked in the community owned recreational reserve…..
12 Dec 2016 | Freedom camping is prohibited in 79 named reserves across the Waitaki district. Camper vans used for freedom camping must meet national standards for self-containment and can camp in the same spot for a maximum of three days over a four-week period. ODT
2 Nov 2016 | The Christchurch City Council has voted to completely ban freedom camping. The council today amended a by-law to stop visitors from camping without a toilet on board their vehicle in areas where it had been possible to do so until now. The change will take effect from next month, in five city areas and Banks Peninsula, in time for the peak of the tourist season. RNZ News
Warrington Domain is the first and only freedom camping stop on the East Coast after travellers arrive at Christchurch Airport and buy a cheap car.
Dunedin City Council conveniently pushes freedom campers out of the city to the ‘rural climes’. Poor Warrington residents and their families.
Lately, DCC and the troughers on the Waikouaiti Coast Community Board have been shouting success with ‘improvements’ to Warrington Domain for freedom campers. This is DISGUSTING SPIN. The situation IS NOT under control.
A Warrington resident continues to voluntarily pooper-scoop human excrement from the surrounds of Warrington Domain, thanks to bloody ‘freeloader’ freedom campers NOT using self-contained vehicles.
The do-gooders at DCC are throwing YOUR Good Ratepayer Money after BAD.
Another case of OPM at DCC.
The “complaints” (!!) continue to circulate in the community —against DCC.
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DCC had “already responded to earlier concerns by introducing upgraded toilet facilities and high-tech rubbish bins, which seemed to have put an end to complaints from residents”.
### ODT Online Wed, 1 Feb 2017
Freedom camping expansion being studied
By Chris Morris
More areas of Dunedin could be opened up to freedom camping, while new restrictions are considered for Warrington Domain, as the Dunedin City Council mulls further changes to its approach. Council parks and recreation acting group manager Jendi Paterson said yesterday the council was seeking input from community boards on possible changes to the freedom camping bylaw for next season. That could eventually result in new locations being added to the list of permitted freedom camping spots in Dunedin, at present limited to Warrington Domain and Ocean View Recreation Reserve for non-self-contained vehicles.
Read more
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### ODT Online Tue, 31 Jan 2017
New rules proposed for drones near wildlife, vehicles on beaches
By Chris Morris
Drones could be grounded, and vehicles ordered off the sand, if new rules for some Dunedin beaches are approved. The Dunedin City Council has proposed a ban on flying drones around some sensitive wildlife locations at city beaches and reserves. Drones would still be permitted at other beaches and reserves, but only if the operators first sought permission from the council. New rules would also be introduced for vehicles, which would be banned from some beaches and reserves and face new access restrictions – as well as a 20kmh speed limit – at others. The new approach is outlined in the council’s proposed reserves and beaches bylaw 2017, on which the public has until February 10 to have their say.
Read more
P U B L I C ● C O N S U L T A T I O N
Proposed Reserves and Beaches Bylaw 2017
Closes 10/02/2017
█ http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/council-online/currently-consulting-on/current-consultations/proposed-reserves-and-beaches-bylaw-2017
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To be pedantic:
Subject: RE: Local Government Official Information request – 570874
Date: Sun, 22 Jan 2017 15:02:19 +1300
From: officialinformation @dcc.govt.nz
To: Elizabeth KerrThank you for your request for information. A response will be provided as soon as reasonably practicable but in any event within 20 working days.
If you have any questions about your request, please email officialinformation @dcc.govt.nz
Thank you.
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As sent using the Online Form at DCC website:
Re Warrington Domain
I request the following information in regards to the use and maintenance of Warrington Domain as a public reserve and community asset:HISTORY
1. Does the DCC have a short itemised history for Warrington Domain, regarding its formation (when and by whom), its use and functions, and council stewardship (including before local body amalgamation via Waikouaiti and Silver Peaks county councils)?
2. Was the Domain originally formed by the local Warrington community, with a Domain Board to oversee care and maintenance?
3. Following amalgamation, what has been the history of the Domain’s use?
4. Does the Waikouaiti Coast Community Board have jurisdiction over the way the Domain is used by the community and visitors?
[A brief dateline history with accompanying facts will suffice as overview.]IMPROVEMENTS
5. Currently, what are the fixed/permanent facilities at Warrington Domain provided by DCC?
(For example, water connection, built toilet and wash facilities (hand basins and or showers, cubicled or not), rubbish receptacles, picnic tables and seating, onsite power connection, children’s play equipment, barbeque facilities, marked out sports fields or grass areas, amenity trees and plantings, fencing, protective barriers (of any kind), formed pathways and roads; other)CAMPING
6. Currently, are camping sites limited to any particular area of Warrington Domain?
7. Altogether, how many camp sites are allowed at Warrington Domain?
8. How many self-contained (camper van) parking sites are allowed at the Domain?
9. Are there any delineated areas (not included above) reserved for community/public use at the Domain? (please state any formally prescribed uses associated with these areas)BYLAWS
10. Is there a specific Council Bylaw(s) which applies to Warrington Domain?DOMAIN COSTS
11. How much does it cost DCC to maintain Warrington Domain annually?
Please provide full itemised figures for each of the last five years (including for 2017, from 1 Jan – 31 Jan if by estimate).The figures to include:
– the daily/weekly/monthly (whichever applies) hire cost of port-a-loos and how many are on hire;
– weekly/monthly (which ever applies) cost of rubbish collection and removal from the site;
– the purchase and installation costs for solar powered compacting rubbish receptacles, and the number of these units installed;
– the purchase and installation costs of any other fixtures or facilities at the Domain;
– the annual costs associated with vandalisation of any fixtures and facilities provided at the Domain;
– the annual cost for maintenance and upgrade of any fixtures and facilities provided at the Domain;
– the annual cost for grounds maintenance (including turf work, playing fields, grass mowing and weed control, roads and pathways and fencing/barriers; power, sewerage, water connections, materials brought to site such as soil, gravel and sand);
– the annual cost of any contracting or subcontracting services to maintain the Domain for public use;
– the annual cost of DCC staff time to oversee the Domain on the public’s behalf (including site visits, grounds management, planning and policy development, governance and admin, community engagement, processing complaints, enforcement, reporting to Council, other);
– the cost of any surveys being conducted by DCC or service contractors to assess freedom camping numbers and impacts on the Domain; and
– other costs not outlined here, which might include professional, legal and resource management fees.OTHER MATTERS
12. Have any roads or tracks for vehicles been formed through the Domain by DCC preventing use of grassed areas/playing surfaces/sports fields by the local community? Why?13. Is freedom camping physically infringing on or curtailing the local community’s use and enjoyment of Warrington Domain? How is this being measured and managed by DCC?
14. How many freedom campers have been staying at Warrington Domain nightly from 1 July 2016 to 15 January 2017? (please state number of vehicles; and number of individuals if known)
15. What is the average length of stay per vehicle at the Domain?
16. Is anyone employed by DCC to move people on if vehicle numbers become excessive or are damaging the Domain as a public reserve?
(see seasonal overuse, vandalism, indiscriminate toileting and littering (environmental health), etc)Please supply available information in electronic format. Thanks.
[ends]
Related Posts and Comments:
10.2.16 Dunedin freedom camping #DCC #enforcement
16.12.14 DCC: Freedom Camping issues
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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
This post is offered in the public interest.
What if? Dunedin... 