Neville Peat.

The disquiet came as councillors at yesterday's Dunedin City Council planning and regulatory committee meeting received an update on additional steps taken to manage freedom camping problems in the city.

That included new signs and security patrols at Macandrew Bay and Ocean View, which together would cost the council about $17,600 this summer.

Despite that, council reserves and recreation planning team leader Richard Saunders said some freedom campers were continuing to ignore rules at Macandrew Bay.

Five overnight parks had been set aside in the area for vehicles without on-board toilets, but more than that had been staying in recent weeks, he said.

Extra security patrols could also not be expected to encourage ''total compliance'' this summer, ''as this would require an almost constant presence on site'', his report said.

The council was continuing to talk to the Department of Conservation about the development of a Doc-style camping ground on the peninsula, with a feasibility study expected to be completed by March 31, he said.

Some councillors spoke in support of that initiative at yesterday's meeting, including Cr Neville Peat, a staunch critic of freedom camping provisions in Macandrew Bay.

He reiterated those concerns yesterday, but said a Doc-style camping ground on the peninsula would plug a ''glaring gap'' in Doc's national network of camping grounds.

''On the peninsula, a major wildlife attraction for visitors, we don't see anything of the sort.''

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Freedom camping concerns