The district’s new Freedom Camping Bylaw has been in place for just over a week but locals are already reporting freedom camping numbers far exceeding the bylaw’s limits.

Residents of Allenby Place have reacted to the influx of campervans to their quiet neighbourhood - now designated as one of 15 carpark sites in the district which allows freedom camping - with dismay.

“As a councillor and a resident near one of the freedom camping sites I am super frustrated over the first 10 days of the new bylaw being in place,” deputy mayor Quentin Smith (who voted against the bylaw) told the Wānaka App.

“My family [is] personally experiencing a pretty extreme change in our neighbourhood and massive increase in traffic at normally quiet evening time.  

“The three dedicated sites at Beacon Point and Allenby Place each are typically occupied by 4pm and people continue to drive in and out for the next seven hours or so with no outcome, other than some of them choosing to ignore the three van restriction.”  

There are three designated sites for camping at the Allenby Place carpark.

He said on Tuesday night (December 9) there were 10 van movements in 10 minutes at 11pm at the Allenby Place carpark, which is usually dead quiet.   

“In 10 days I haven’t witnessed a single night of compliance, where the new rules are being respected,” he said.    

“I feel really frustrated we have been forced into this position by a freedom camping act and court challenges from the [NZ Motor Caravan Association] only to end up in a worse position than we started.”  

He fears what the sites will be like in the peak of summer, and said QLDC is already receiving a lot of complaints. 

“I know council ambassadors are visiting and council enforcement staff and contractors are issuing tickets but it seems a bucket in a tsunami.”  

Read more: Freedom camping bylaw now in place across QLDC

Another resident of Allenby Place said their home “changed overnight” after December 1.

There are 18 designated sites at the Wānaka Recreation Centre.

“Since then we've had hundreds of campers driving down our street trying to get one of three parks. They go from 3pm to late at night, speeding past the playground and dog park," he said.

"We're really worried about the fire risk. Most of these vans only have outdoor gas hobs so they have to cook outside - and QLDC has tucked the spaces right up against Mt Iron which is the biggest wildfire hazard in Wānaka.

"QLDC have made a crazy decision, without consideration of the impact on Allenby Place. We're only 10 days in and the residents are fed up already - something needs to change ASAP."

Another resident displayed signs at the entrance to the carpark, saying ‘freedom camping = freeloading, go to a campground’, ‘Campervans: It’s full, try behind QLDC, 47 Ardmore Street’, and another sign listing the councillors who approved the bylaw, noting ‘They don’t live here’.

A resident who contacted the Wānaka App said Cougar Security arrives in the evening to ticket any non-compliant parking, but the campers arrive after Cougar leaves.

“That’s part of the problem. Cougar Security has been here every night. They can’t control it,” she said.

The bylaw, which was put in place last Monday (December 1), prohibits freedom camping (in certified self-contained vehicles) in most urban areas but allows for 18 designated spaces at the Wānaka Recreation Centre carpark, three spaces at the Beacon Point Road carpark, and three at the Allenby Place carpark.

There are also 10 spaces designated for camping at the Camp Hill Road carpark by the Hāwea River.

Meanwhile, a group of Upper Clutha residents are continuing to campaign against the inclusion of Beacon Point within the designated camping areas. A petition by the group, Save Clean NZ, has gained more than 1,300 signatures.

Read more: Campaign launched to ‘save Beacon Point’

Residents can report non compliance and complaints to: [email protected].

PHOTOS: Supplied