PROPOSED BY-LAWS.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9520, 12 September 1896, Page 5

PROPOSED BY-LAWS.

The practice of parties of youths and young men camping at Sumner during the summer months has greatly incroaaed in recent j-ears, and last soason as many as eighty tents were counted at ono trine. Unfortunately, however, some of the campers have by their conduct incurred the displeasure of a number of residents whoso houses are adjacent to the campiug grounds, and tho Sumner Borough Council have taken up tho grievance, and are framing by-laws to regulate camp life. One of our representatives saw Mr Crawford, tho Town Clerk, Sumner, yostorday, and from him learned the following particulars :—

" There are," _aid Mr Crawford, " two chief complaints ; one being that numbers of young men will not observe ordinary rules of decency, but run about their cum ping grounds and down to the beach in the early morning without clothing. Tho othor allegation is, that as thero are no proper conveniences on the camping grounds, the neglect of sanitary precautions causes a nuisance and endangers the health of tho residents. Complaiuts have repeatedly been made to the Council and, acting under clause 422 of the Municipal Corporations Act, which gives tho Council power to make by-laws, inter alia, for regulating the erection of tents and other temporary structures, tho necessary steps aro in progress for making tho following by-laws :— • No. 24. No person or porsou. .hull erect a tent of any description, or any temporary structure for dwelling purposes, within the Borough, or maintain the same without first having obtained the M'ritteii license of the Council under the hand of the Town Clerk. When applying for such license the applicant shall deliver to tho Town Clerk the written consent of the owner, or tho agent for the owner, of the land on which it is intended to erect such tent or structure. The Council may limit the period during which such tent or structure may remain erected, and on tho expiration of such period the person by whom tho tent or structure was erected shall remove the same. 25. Should any person or persona rcceiva permission as uforesaid to erect a tent or other temporary structure for dwelling pur* ! loses, he or they shall provide und maim-am or the use of the occupants of such tent oi structure a suitable privy, to be approved by the Council's officers and in accordance with tho sanitary by-laws of the borough; such privy shall bo removed with tho tent or structure. 26. No tent or other structure as aforesaid shall be erected within a distance of 3Cft from any building. 27. The written license to erect a tent shall bo in tho form A of the schedule hereto, and tha person or persous receiving bucli license shall pay therefor, in advanco, a feo of 6s for each and every week, or fraction of a week, during the poiiod for which such license shall bo granted. Licenses may be extended upon prepayment of fees for such extension. 28. The Council may at any time before the expiration of any license as aforesaid recall the said license and enforce the removal of the tent and privy.'" The license fee, Mr Crawford explained, was fixed at 5s per week, partly with v view to providing funds to pay the cost of supervision. As, however, one of the principal reasons for the popularity of camping-out is its cheapness, it was pointed out to our representative by other residents of Sumner that the imposition of a charge of 6» per tent per week, and the additional cost of providing conveniences, as required by * the Council, will, it is more than likely, cause the campers to seek fresh fields. It has been suggested that the Council should charge a nominal fee of say Is per week, or 6s per month, for each tent, and that two or three latrines should be erected near the spots whore the camps are mostly pitched. That plan is adopted at watering places at Home whore camping-out is indulged in, and the cost would be insignificant. The Council possesses no land of their own upon which such creations could be made, but possibly the owners of some of the vacant sections would give the necessary permission. There should then be no more : difficulty about inspection for sanitary purposes than there is in connection witordinary dwellings., ; • •„ '