The future of freedom camping at a Waitaki district hot spot has yet to be decided.
The Kakanui Ratepayers and Improvement Society, which struck a land management deal with the Waitaki District Council over the land at Campbell's Bay, would be "taking time'' to follow a "rigorous process'' before making any decisions on the use of the land, the society's president, Lucianne White, said.
"It's really important to establish the significant values placed by the community on the site to help determine the best use,'' Mrs White said in a statement on Wednesday.
"This, of course, will take time as we need to listen to a diverse group of people and try and come up with a recommendation that will work long-term for the majority.''
An estimated 12,000 campers spent a night at Campbells Bay between October and April last year and created a situation some Kakanui residents described as "monstrous''.
The council-owned toilet block failed several times over the summer. Under the council's proposed Waitaki District Responsible Freedom Camping Bylaw, approved on June 22, camping would be banned on council-managed land at Campbells Bay.
However, the council negotiated a "reciprocal licence to occupy swap'' with the ratepayers society last month, which simplified the previous management of the land owned in part by both the council and the society.
The roughly 2000sq m (of the 3700sq m of land at Campbells Bay) the society manages could be used for camping.
In previous years, the ratepayers society allowed camping at the site.
On Wednesday, Mrs White said there were no plans in place for the site and there was not timeline for a plan to be put in place.
"The section ... is for community use so we need to hear from the community what they would like the site to look like and we intend to do that thoroughly before any firm decisions are made,'' Mrs White wrote.
Under the council's proposed bylaw, the first of its kind for the district, freedom camping would be prohibited throughout much of the district on council-owned land and where it would be permitted it would be restricted to certified self-contained camper vans and limited to three-night stays over a four-week period.
Submissions close on the freedom camping bylaw on July 25.
