Budget increase for Marlborough freedom camping rangers

Managing freedom camping in Marlborough went over budget last summer, prompting the council to commit more funding for the coming season.

The Marlborough District Council last year stumped up $70,000 in funding for a freedom camping ranger, after the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment pulled funding it had previously committed to the cause.

The funding is used to employ rangers to monitor and educate people who used Marlborough's five freedom camping sites.

But speaking to councillors at an assets and services meeting, council parks and open spaces manager Jane Tito asked for the budget to be increased to $90,000.

Tito said they had blown over last season's budget, so the increased funding would address this, inflation, wages, and vehicle running costs.

A report prepared by Tito said three contractors were employed for the last season, which was approximately four months.

The report said it was envisaged there would be more visitors to the region this coming season and monitoring should be increased to align with community expectations.

Council staff believed the monitoring period and hours could remain the same as the previous year to meet demand. Rangers worked from 1 December to 31 March from 6am to 10am and 6pm to 10pm.

They would also continue to maintain an "educational focus" on freedom camping rules in the district, which worked well to date with "few complaints and low infringement numbers" the report said.

Blenheim ward councillor Michael Fitzpatrick asked in light of the bad weather in the region, which had closed multiple roads in the Marlborough Sounds, whether the $90,000 budget was still necessary.

"The Marlborough Sounds .... how I see it [will] be off the radar for the next year. So will this extra work be required?" Fitzpatrick said.

But Tito said while access to the Sounds might not be possible, they still had other areas they needed to monitor. And, Kenepuru Sound was also damaged last summer, and they still exceeded the budget.

Marlborough's 2020 freedom camping bylaw restricted freedom campers to five council-owned sites, down from 13, and ruled vehicles must be self-contained. Freedom camping was prohibited everywhere else in the region.

But that bylaw was challenged by the New Zealand Motor Caravan Association, after the council closed eight of the council's 13 sites, leaving Blenheim's Wynen St car park; the Taylor River Dam; the Renwick Domain; Lake Elterwater Reserve (in Ward); and the Wairau Diversion.

Tito said they expected a decision on a revised bylaw, which was reviewed in March this year, in time for the upcoming holiday season.

The 2022 draft bylaw proposed to keep existing sites, and increase capacity at Renwick Domain from 10 vehicles per night to 20.

It also proposed to open three sites, at Blairich Reserve in the Awatere Valley, Opouri Rd in Rai Valley, and Wash Bridge Recreation Reserve on State Highway 63.

It proposed to allow tents at Blairich Reserve, specifically to cater for cycle tourism.

Wairau-Awatere councillor Cynthia Brooks, who made a submission on the draft bylaw calling for an extra site, asked Tito at the meeting if rangers would be monitoring if freedom camping vehicles were compliant.

"We need to take a firm line on that," Brooks said.

"That compliance, does the community have faith in that? No more people sleeping in cars on these sites.

"I hope the rangers really do take a firm line on that. It's got to reach an even higher threshold now. I hope that happens otherwise I will be disappointed."

Tito said the rangers understood that, and educated on compliance last season.

The committee voted to amend a recommendation in the report, and agreed to fund up to $90,000 for the freedom camping rangers this season. This was subject to full council approval on 22 September.

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