John MacDonald: Hi-de-hi campers! Christchurch's campervan clanger

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

When I heard that a campervan park is going to be up and running in central Christchurch, near Latimer Square —possibly in time for this summer— my first thought was that I’m glad I haven’t spent more than $500,000 buying an apartment around there.

Not even the developer’s reassurances that campervan people aren’t “yahoo types” made me feel any more excited about it.

In fact, I think it’s the last place we want to see something like this. And I’m pointing the finger squarely at the council for giving this development resource consent.

Because just after I saw at the weekend that the council has failed to achieve its target of having 20,000 people living in the central city by this year, it’s gone and given out consent for a campervan park.

It’s not as if people who have bought apartments in the city aren’t having enough trouble as it is, finding more and more of the apartments around them being hired out as Airbnb accommodation.

If someone’s moved into the centre of town on the sell-job that they’re going to be living in this community of people all wanting to embrace the downtown lifestyle - they’re going to be feeling somewhat short changed, aren't they?

Especially people living near Lattier Square who are finding out today that there’s going to be a campervan park next door or down the road.

So the gist is the Christchurch City Council has given consent for this park with space for up to 25 campervans on Gloucester Street – where the Stonehurst Hotel used to be. That came down after the earthquakes, there was also a hostel there and a small campground back in the day.

The thing is though, that was then, and this is now.

And since the earthquakes, there’s been this big effort to get more people living in the centre of town.

The council set itself the target of having 20,000 people living in the CBD by this year. We found out over the weekend that hasn’t happened, and it’s pushed out the deadline another four years to 2028.

In the meantime, it’s giving the green light for this thing - where people will be able to take their campervans and stay for up to four weeks.

My opposition to it is based on a couple of things.

The first one is gut instinct or gut reaction. I just don’t buy this idea that just because you drive a campervan, it doesn’t mean you’re not going to be a pain in the backside to someone at some point.

Just because you’re a member of the motorhome association, it’s not going to make you any less self-entitled when you cruise into town. And, despite what the developer behind this project is saying today, there is no guarantee that someone driving a campervan is going to give two hoots about the people living there.

So that’s my gut instinct telling me it’s a bad idea.

The other reason I’m opposed to it is that it flies completely in the face of what the council’s supposed to be hellbent on achieving for Christchurch.

It wants people living in the centre of town. It wants people opening their eyes and realising that the quarter acre section isn’t the be-all and end-all, and that you can have a pretty decent life living in an apartment and making the most of what the central city has to offer.

And a campervan park is completely at odds with the vision it’s been trying to sell since the quakes.

Talk about left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.