15 Feb 2018

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A campervan-friendly car park is being trialled in central Christchurch to encourage tourists to come into the city.

The Christchurch City Council supports the use of the car park on Manchester Street between Gloucester and Worcester streets for campervans to park in during the day. The carpark is a large open space, perfect for larger vehicles.  Access is from Gloucester Street.  The car park is not available overnight.

There is a small parking fee for stays longer than one hour. 

About 56 campervans a day are dispatched from Tourism Holdings Ltd (THL) depots at the airport. THL operates about 90 per cent of the campervan vehicle fleet in New Zealand.

ChristchurchNZ Industry Partnership Manager Caroline Blanchfield says most campervan renters have not been coming into the central city because they believe it has limited parking available. 

“The purpose of this project is to open up the Christchurch city centre to campervans by providing safe vehicle parking in the CBD for large campervans for day-time parking.

“Offering this site will help send the message that Christchurch is open for business and welcomes campervan visitors to the central city to access retail and other visitor attractions.”

The trial is a great example of collaboration between the Council and local businesses to find a workable solution, she says.