Auckland company VanLab is among those affected if regulations outlaw porta-potties in freedom camping vehicles.
VanLab has sold hundreds of campervan conversion kits since launching 18 months ago, but company owner Andy Jones is a worried man. Changes to freedom camping regulations could throw a spanner in the works for his business, rental fleets, and thousands of campervan, caravan and motorhome owners facing the possibility of costly upgrades to ensure their vehicles are classed as self-contained. Jones, an aeronautical engineer and former McLaren supercar designer, uses 3D scanning technology to create custom-made conversion kits that slot together like a giant jigsaw, and he says moveable porta-potties make the best use of available space.
Govt to beef up freedom camping rules
8 Apr, 2021 10:15 PM
3 minutes to read
Freedom camping has strained council services such as rubbish collection and public toilets. Photo / Bevan Conley
Freedom camping has strained council services such as rubbish collection and public toilets. Photo / Bevan Conley
Peter de Graaf is a reporter for the Northern Advocatepeter.degraaf@northernadvocate.co.nznorthernadvocat
The government plans to beef up the rules around freedom camping in a bid to protect the environment and New Zealand s reputation as a clean, green destination.
Tourism Minister Stuart Nash announced a series of proposals during a visit to Bay of Islands Holiday Park at Haruru today, ranging from an outright ban on freedom camping in non-self-contained vehicles to requiring vehicle-based freedom campers to stay at sites with toilet facilities or in a vehicle certified as self-contained.
It also believed the public was not consulted about a second drafting of the bylaw, and that the bylaw undermined the Freedom Camping Act, which guided the bylaw review, and said councils “must not absolutely prohibit freedom camping” in their regions. Association chief executive Bruce Lochore said Marlborough s councillors had failed in their duties by “ignoring” an independent expert hired by the council to conduct a region-wide freedom camping review. The expert recommended the council allow freedom camping everywhere except certain sites, open up to four new freedom camping sites in the region, and close another two. Instead, councillors agreed to not open new sites and close eight existing ones after the bylaw’s proposals drew the ire of residents.
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