Bay Harbour: December 20, 2017

Wednesday December 20 2017
News
Sneaky bid to deter freedom campers
Signs stolen so
camper vans
won’t park up
• By Sarla Donovan
PEOPLE AGAINST freedom
camping are taking the law into
their own hands in a sneaky bid
to thwart them from staying
over night.
Akaroa Police Senior
Constable Anita Osborne said
not all residents welcomed
freedom campers to the area
and some felt very strongly
about the issue.
But fully self-contained
camper vans are legally able to
park for two nights in threequarters
of the streets around
the area and people needed to
find better ways to communicate
their feelings than stealing signs,
she said.
Freedom camping signs in
Akaroa Heritage Park and
Ellangowan Reserve near
Hickory Bay were targeted last
Wednesday.
One was stolen and another
damaged. The signs show where
and for how long self-contained
camper vans can legally park.
The vandalism follows an
earlier incident last Monday
on Banks Peninsula.
when two freedom camping
signs were taken from Selwyn
Ave, Akaroa.
Those signs were left on the
Akaroa Police Station doorstep
after Senior Constable Osborne
used social media to call for
their return.
“I’m trying to drum in that
there are lawful alternatives to
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
THEFT: Camping signs like this have been stolen and
damaged in Akaroa Heritage Park and Ellangowan Reserve
make your voice heard,” she told
Bay Harbour News.
Her advice: “If you want to
protest make a sign and stand
on a corner. Or complain to the
city council, and take part in
community meetings and have
some input. Be lawful. Because
otherwise, you may end up at
court.”
She said larger vans weren’t a
problem but some of the smaller
ones, where the toilet was
located beneath the mattress,
weren’t very practical.
She said people travelling in
smaller vans often used public
toilets instead, because it was
difficult to access the toilet if a
bed was on top.
Rules around which vehicles
qualified as ‘self-contained’ were
tightened earlier this year after a
review of the national standard
for self containment of motor
caravans and caravans.
Motor Caravan Association
national policy planning
manager James Imlach said
the tightening was in response
to vehicles which complied
with the technical wording of
the standard – to have a toilet
on-board – but not the intent,
which was for people to use the
toilet inside the vehicle.
Under the new standard, a
person must be able to use the
toilet within the vehicle, even
when the bed is made up.
Mr Imlach said there were
some vehicles on the road which
were certified under the old
standard (certification is given
for four years) but they currently
make up less than one per cent
of motor homes registered in
New Zealand.
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Fire rages, homes at risk
SECURITY CAMERA FUND
A Givealittle page to help
purchase and install surveillance
cameras in Sumner has so far
attracted $2215 from 35 donors.
The group behind the cameras,
Safer Sumner, was formed last
month after a spate of aggravated
burglaries in the area, including
an armed intruder who was
confronted by Emely van Ras
in her Scarborough home. Safer
Sumner wants to raise $4000 to
install two cameras in the village.
Donations to the Givealittle page
close on January 5.
SCOTT PARK PROGRESS
A landscape architect has been
appointed to remedy issues with
the layout and design of Scott
Park, Ferrymead. The park has
been criticised for its lack of
public access to the foreshore
and poor layout, parking and
public space. The city council
has developed an initial brief for
the architect which will go to a
working party for discussion.
CRUISE SHIP LEVY
The Akaroa Civic Trust wants a
$5 levy on cruise ship passengers
who come onshore, to help fund
the Akaroa health hub. The
trust has raised the idea with the
Banks Peninsula Community
Board.
The team at Smart Real
Estate wishes you a Happy
and Safe Holiday Season.
We thank you for your continued
support and look forward to
working with you in the New Year.
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Allan
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Crowley
Jahna
Brennan
Kama
Jacobs
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