District council staff are denying there's an issue at the TECT All Terrain Park with freedom campers.

Since park ranger Jarron McInnes was fired after being attacked by freedom campers Sunlive has received photos of untidy camp sites and rubbish said to be left at the park by freedom campers.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council deny there's an issue with freedom campers at the TECT All Terrain Park. Photo: Supplied

Jarron was attacked by three freedom campers on the night of January 12 after asking them to stop drinking alcohol and being disorderly.

Freedom camping is permitted at the TECT All Terrain Park under the Western Bay of Plenty District Council Freedom Camping Bylaw in 2012.

Under the bylaw freedom camping is allowed on all council land unless restricted by the bylaw. If no bylaw was in place, freedom camping could legally occur anywhere in the Park.

The decision to include TECT Park in the bylaw was made during a public bylaw process and included consultation with the Park's user group, says council group manager infrastructure services, Gary Allis.

The ability for people to stay overnight at the Park was addressed from an early stage of the Park's development and is acknowledged in the TECT All Terrain Park Management Plan and Operational Guidelines.

The plan was originally adopted following consultation with the user groups and was endorsed by the TECT All Terrain Park sub-Committee which includes both city and district councillors as well as local iwi.

While the issue was raised at the recent user groups forum, all revisions of the freedom camping bylaw until now have been reviewed by the park user groups forum and elected members.

No issues have been raised by user groups about freedom camping at the park, says Gary. Overnight stays are allowed within some of the user group lease areas.

The Freedom Camping Bylaw is due for review again in 2017 and the public can share their views on how freedom camping is managed in the Western Bay then.

There were no submissions on freedom camping at TECT All Terrain Park when the bylaw was reviewed in late 2015.

The TECT park is featured on the app CamperMate, which accesses Council's website and links freedom campers to detailed information about the Park, all of which is publicly available.

The link is thought to have been in place for about 18 months – but the council reply to Sunlive's written questions doesn't make it clear if this was before or after the bylaw review.

An example of some of the rubbish left by freedom campers at the TECT All Terrain Park. Photo: Supplied

The CamperMate app is being provided by vehicle rental companies so their clients can access permitted freedom camping sites.

Council has no mandate to request its removal from CamperMate, says Gary. There are several other publications that provide this information, such as the MZMCA members' book.

'We cannot stop people posting inaccurate comments on Facebook.”

There are three designated freedom camping sites at the Park – two for self-contained vehicles only, and one for non-self-contained vehicles and tents. This area is clearly signposted and shown on CamperMate.

'A lot of the freedom campers are park users; they walk the trails, visit Adrenalin Forest and do usual things other day visitors do in the Park,” says Gary.

'As for the people freedom camping at the Park, we are seeing young, middle-class Europeans and Scandinavians who stay one or two nights on their way around New Zealand.

'By and large they are very respectful of the site and very pleasant to deal with. We also see many middle-aged Kiwis travelling in various types of campervans, including many members of NZMCA.”

Park's rangers carry out daily maintenance on the three toilets, and a comprehensive clean is carried out once a week by a contractor. There are an additional four public toilets in the Park at Adrenalin forest, the Mountain bike hub, motorbike hub and equestrian area which serve users of those facilities.

Water use can be a concern and is metered. A night's worth of freedom campers typically uses about one per cent of the stored water, while a bus full of tourists using the arrival centre uses about three per cent. Both groups are using the facilities at no charge.

Park users are responsible for their own security and user groups can choose to add security features into the design of their facilities.

User groups under their leases are specifically required to be responsible for the security of their exclusive lease areas and assets. Public facilities are the responsibility of the park managers.

Freedom campers at TECT All Terrain Park. Photo: Supplied