House buses circumvent bylaw
The Greymouth Star – House buses circumvent bylaw
House buses are getting around Grey District Council rules aimed at preventing makeshift camps by moving from one site to another — and then back again. Last year, a new campervan effluent dump station by the Cobden Bridge became overcrowded as house-bus owners on their way to a convention in Otago parked up for days on end. The sight of washing lines, and even someone sleeping on a picnic table, prompted the council to review its freedom camping policy so that anyone in self-contained buses and campervans could stay up to five days, as long as they got a permit.
I note that the article is about housebuses and campervans and the “freedom camping” bylaw. It specifically states that a member of a house-bus was “sleeping” on a picnic table, but at the end of the article, it states that motorists and occupants of vehicles were relieving themselves in the bushes nearby.
It lends me to believe that perhaps the occupants of the vehicles were from another country? Tourists methinkst, who do not understand the importance and stature of maraes as most NZ pakehas do.
And housebuses are not generally hired by tourists (unless they are the big new coaches, but the picture on the article indicates that all the outside toiletry antics are being done by house-bus owners) and most campervans have thetfords and waste tanks. Why go outside?
Anyway, check the article out and draw your own conclusions.
- posted on 03/02/2012 20:38:14
There are thousands of small camper vans in the nations hire fleet that are based on the Toyota highace sized van. NONE of these have toilet facilities and the ones that I have seen with the little kitchen at the rear , dump the sink waste straight onto the ground. Most noticeable in the public carpark on Lake Wanaka foreshore
These companies need a rocket under them , they are just making life more difficult for the rest of us who wish to be mobile . . . rant , rant ..
It’s like graffiti. You’ll never get rid of the problem if the behaviour is not changed. Councils don’t want to address behaviour, they’re like the greens and want to ban everything. But while increasing your rates for reduced services…(The term “More for Less” applies, but in reverse: you pay us more, we’ll give you less)…they are not helping the communities they are supposed to be serving…
And, I’ve always been of the opinion that most hire motorhomes, (the modern ones anyway) have at least cassette toilets installed? with a list and map of dumping stations available for good measure…Is this not the case anymore?
This problem happens periodically when one or a few individual, selfish, H/Ters decide to do their “own thing” in public view.
The complaints are generated by the public and the council have to respond.
This article seems to be saying that a bus is moving around, but within sight of the public/residents each time and is effectively flouting the regs, living within the letter of the bylaw, but not within the spirit of it.
This will only result in more regulation and more insistant policing of it .
Just what we need , thanks very much another as**le on the road.
The other issue of using the side of the road as a toilet needs desperate attention.
Having the councils prohibit campers wont stop the problem.
Installing several more toilets at popular rest areas will go a long way.
Then better education of the tourists needs to be done, perhaps the inclusion of a shovel in the hire campervans complete with instructions for use.
NB, campers referred to by the council “include those hired out by Wicked , Spaceship, Maui, Kiwi, Jucy, Britz, Escape, and Backpacker rentals (but not limited to) without toilet or grey water holding tanks.” (quote from council regs)
We saw numerous incidents of these hire campers stopping to use a rest area as a toilet , and a short walk off the edge of the seal/shingle area reveals toilet paper scattered all around in the grass.
I think its just wrong . I can see no way this would be tolerated overseas , and shouldn’t be acceptable here either.
Big message to the councils , install more public toilets , the tourists are needed in this country , make life easier for them.
Then we can use them also