Dear Mr Soar

 

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your official information request
dated 20 May 2021 asking for information that relates to freedom camping
dumpstations in Whanganui.

We received your request on 20 May.  We will endeavour to respond to your
request as soon as possible and in any event no later than 18 June 2021,
being 20 working days after the day your request was received.  If we are
unable to respond to your request by then, we will notify you of an
extension of that timeframe.

If you have any queries, please feel free to contact me on (06) 349 0001
or by return email.  If any additional factors come to light which are
relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to contact me so that
these can be taken into account.

Kind regards

 

Kellie Brougham

 

 

| LGOIMA Request
P: +64 | M: +64
[1]www.whanganui.govt.nz
Whanganui District Council | | | Whanganui
[2]Antenno
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Dear Mr Soar

 

I refer to your official information request dated 20 May 2021 asking for
information that relates to freedom camping dump stations in Whanganui.

 

The information you have requested is as follows: -

 

Your email refers to a statement made by council that - These are not
specifically for Freedom campers, but for campervans that choose to empty
in Whanganui.

 

 1. How much money is spent on the installation and maintenance of these
dump stations that are used by camper vans in Whanganui per annum?

The Council has two dump stations. One is located at Springvale Park and
one is located near the Motorboat clubrooms off Anzac Parade.

 

Springvale Park: for clarification, in about 2008 the Motor Caravan
Association (MCA) approached Council about making Whanganui a Motorhome
friendly city. For us to achieve this we needed to have a certain number
of freedom camping sites available. As part of these discussions the MCA
offered to pay a contribution towards the installation of a dump station
at this site. The dump station was built shortly after.  The Council is
unable to provide you with the detail regarding this installation because
we no longer hold the information (we are only obliged to hold financial
records such as invoices for 7 years). As we no longer hold the
information that would enable us to answer your question we are formally
refusing this part of your request under section 17(e) of LGOIMA which
relates to information that does not exist.

 

Anzac Parade: This installation occurred as part of a larger project of
installing toilet blocks. It was more cost effective to merge the costs of
installing the dump station into the larger project.  Because of this
decision, it would require substantial research to extract out the
installation costs for the dump station (if it can be done at all). If we
were to undertake this research we would need to charge you for the time
taken to extract the information. If you wish us to undertake this process
please contact me and I will provide you with an estimate of the likely
cost. Otherwise, we will formally refuse this part of your request which
under section 17(f) of LGOIMA which relates to requests involving
substantial collation or research.

 

Annually, the Whanganui District Council spends on average $2,500 on
maintenance of the dump stations around the city.

 

 2. If the Council has no idea of the number of freedom camping and of
camper vans dumping in Whanganui how does Council ensure benefit to
the community by revenue generated for Whanganui being greater than
money spent? 
 3. How do we calculate benefit in any way?

The following commentary relates to questions 2 and 3:

 

The Council does not have records that compare freedom camping spend
versus cost of maintenance. Accordingly, we are formally refusing this
part of your request under section 17(e) of LGOIMA which relates to
information that does not exist.

 

We understand that, on average, freedom campers spend $50 per day in any
location at which they camp.  However we do not monitor how many freedom
campers use the dump stations so it is not possible to accurately assess
the financial value added to Whanganui by freedom campers compared to the
cost of maintenance of dump stations. It would be very difficult to
monitor the use of the dump stations in the first place and also to
identify those who stay and those who are “just passing through”.  There
may be national surveys or other statistics on the topic but, as referred
to above, this Council does not have any at this stage.

 

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of
this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
[1]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.

 

If you wish to discuss this decision with us, please feel free to contact
me on 06 349 0001 or by return email.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Kellie Brougham

 

On behalf of

Rob Goldsbury

Legal Counsel

 

| LGOIMA Request
P: +64 | M: +64
[2]www.whanganui.govt.nz
Whanganui District Council | | | Whanganui
[3]Antenno
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