A review of the Lakes District's camping grounds will be brought forward to next year following the Queenstown Lakes District Council meeting last week, during which councillors strongly supported the recommendation.
Chief executive Debra Lawson said the council started a review of camping grounds operating on council-owned land in 2004 and adopted its camping ground strategy in August 2006.
While an interim review was not due until 2016 and a full review was not planned until 2026, there had been "some changes" and there was a need for decisions, both short and long-term "about financial investment", Ms Lawson said.
"It was subject to a huge amount of passionate debate, strong views and diverse views [in 2005].
"We don't think this has changed."
The most significant change was the freedom-camping legislation, which was likely to result in a "significant increase" in demand for low-cost camping facilities. The impact of the legislation should be "carefully considered" in the review.
Ms Lawson said many of the recommendations of the 2006 strategy had now been implemented and consumers and lessees across the district were keen to know about long-term plans for the camp-ground operations.
The council had been approached by some lessees wanting the lease terms on cabins to be reviewed and the determination of the location of the Wanaka sports facilities and changes in operation at the Glendhu Camp had raised the imperative of making short-term investment decisions.
"There is a need for decisions to be made regarding the longer-term future of these camps, as they do not currently meet basic standards.
"The Wanaka and Glendhu camps are enormously valued by the local community and holiday makers alike, who... want to be consulted on council's plans for future investment and improvement."
The combined operating income from holiday parks in the district for this financial year was expected to be $4.2 million, with a gross profit of $1.34 million.
After interest and depreciation, the net surplus was expected to be $535,000.
That would be added to the expected net income from other leased camps and the Lakeview site of $197,000.
Cr Lyal Cocks said he strongly supported an early review of the camping grounds.
"A lot of the camp grounds maybe don't need to be reviewed. We can narrow it down to the key areas, for example, Wanaka."
However, during the public forum on Tuesday, Dr Nick Brown, of Wanaka said there were "two schools of thought" when it came to the importance of the Wanaka Camping Ground.
"Without doubt there is a cohort of people who really want to retain the Wanaka Camping Ground and, for particular reasons, they value it.
"Similarly, there is a cohort of people who think there's no place for a council-owned camp ground facility in the centre of Wanaka.
"They would prefer the funds to be allocated to upgrade Albert Town and Glendhu facilities."
