Snells residents rally against campers

A group of Snells Beach residents say the Sunburst Avenue carpark is often full with campervans over summer, causing conflict with other users.

A group of Snells Beach residents are campaigning to restrict campervans staying at the waterfront carpark on Sunburst Avenue.The Snells Beach Ratepayers and Residents Association presented to the Rodney Local Board business meeting last month calling on immediate action to regulate camping at the carpark.

Association chair Bryan Jackson said campervans were often oversized, parked illegally and were causing conflict with other users.

“Since late last year there has been a huge increase in the number of vans staying overnight,” Mr Jackson said. “These aren’t just small vehicles – there are buses, trucks and five wheelers up to 13-metres long.

“Many of the vehicles are breaking the law by parking on the footpaths, emptying waste into public toilets, staying more than two nights and many are not self-contained.”

Self-contained campervans are allowed to stay a maximum of two nights at the carpark. There are 38 carparks at the site with a further five spaces for boat trailers.

The association called on the Board to either restrict the number of parks available to campervans to five allocated spaces, ban vehicles longer than seven-metres, or ban overnight camping altogether.

“There are hundreds of other camping sites in the area that they can use,” Mr Jackson said.

Auckland Council’s Regulatory and Bylaws Committee is reviewing freedom camping bylaws next year. Mr Jackson said the association was starting a daily survey of campervan numbers in the park to provide evidence to the committee.

The Board will discuss the matter further with staff.

Snells Beach residents Chas Benest and June Turner presented to the Board in August calling for a four-hour parking limit at the carpark.

Mr Benest said campervans often visited in convoys and took over the majority of the carpark.

Ms Turner said the carpark was advertised on a number of different websites encouraging people to camp at the site. She said many campervans were using the public toilet as a dump station, which created a health hazard.