The issue has been raised with Waimairi Ward Christchurch city councillor Sam MacDonald and Ilam MP Hamish Campbell.
MacDonald said he was contacted 10 days ago about five to six campers who were spotted at the park.
"There are two issues at hand: One being people leaving rubbish and littering. The second is inside the park, freedom camping is prohibited but outside of the park, freedom campers can stay up to two nights.
"We’re making a conscious effort to dissuade people from freedom camping in general.
"At the moment, it’s only happening at Burnside Park that we know of, but we are also monitoring Avonside Park too.”
Campbell said there had been sightings of the campers over the last two weeks.
"A resident had witnessed lots of rubbish left behind, possibly some defecation, and some damage," Campbell said.
"We get a whole lot of issues raised at the electorate office, like parking issues and such. This is the first time freedom campers have been raised . . . I believe this is one issue we can solve.”
Burnside Park Tennis Club president Richard Wild said the club contacted MacDonald after the campers were seen taking up the club’s parking.
"My understanding was the fact they were parking in the club’s car parks (which) meant our members couldn’t park in them," Wild said.
"If it’s impacting the clubs in the park in terms of reducing parking and causing mess, we will have a dim view of it.
“But, it depends on the council’s local policy to determine what happens next.
“It’s also about the club’s security, I’m not saying the campers were the ones who did it, but the tennis club has been broken into a few times over the last few months and has sustained some vandalism.”
MacDonald asked city council staff to install signage, which will happen this week or next.
“We have also approached and instructed Armaguard to monitor for freedom campers in the area.”
