Okuti camping ground canteen will go ahead

Press, 17 May 1989, Page 9

Okuti camping ground canteen will go ahead

Plans for a canteen at Okuti Valley camping ground, near Little River, will go ahead in spite of opposition from some residents, including the owners of the local store. The Wairewa County Council approved the canteen last week on the conditions that it served only campers and stocked a limited range of goods. The camping ground owner, Mr Pat Robson, had run the canteen previously, but stopped while the matter was considered by the council. He alleged that the Little River store was not providing an adequate service for campers at the ground. The owners of the store, Mr Geoffrey and Mrs Jennifer Taylor, said that their store stocked all the items that Mr Robson wanted to sell at his canteen. The area was only large enough to support one store, and a canteen would threaten their livelihood, they said.

The council decided that a canteen was suitable for the camping ground, and that if it ran under some limitations it would not adversely affect "local amenities or the welfare of the people of the district.” The canteen will only be able to serve campers, and only certain items such as packaged icecreams, camera film, suntan lotion, insect repellent, powdered milk and canned foods will be sold. Another condition imposed by the council is that the canteen must run within the existing buildings at the camping ground. Some residents objected to the canteen because they feared it would mean further building. The council rejected another application by Mr Robson to allow him to retain a four-metre sign at the entrance, to the camping ground. The sign is larger than allowed under the District Scheme.