The Ministry of Social Development has visited the Gore Motor Camp this week to address some concerns. (File photo).

The Ministry of Social Development visited the Gore Motor Camp last week amid online claims people who have claimed an emergency housing benefit are living there in "squalid conditions".

A review on TripAdvisor is warning holiday-makers about conditions at the camp but the camp's new leasees said they are taking legal action against the reviewer who wrote it.

MSD southern regional director Sue Rissman said: "We've visited Gore Motor Camp and are in contact with the owner about addressing some of the concerns that have recently come to our attention – these have been about out-of-order facilities and timers on certain appliances, like ovens and driers."

Rachael Kelly/Stuff Some TripAdvisor reviewers have not left good reviews about the Gore Motor Camp.

The TripAdvisor review, which was posted on October 23 using the heading "Warning, stay away please!", alleges tenants were living in "squalid conditions".

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The reviewer said the photos on the site were dated, and not what you would see in 2019.

The reviewer claimed there was no heating in the kitchen, where a plug had been cut from the fan heater and timers were put on appliances after some tenants used them to heat the room.

The reviewer said the kitchen was "dirty and cold" and posted a photo of mould on the ceiling.

Those claims have been backed up by another person Stuff spoke to this week who has stayed at the camp.

He said some families, including some patched Mongrel Mob whānau, were living in cramped conditions.

"There's families staying in the units, families staying in caravans and everyone who is there is being paid for by WINZ [MSD]."

The motor camp has 45 powered sites, 25 non-power sites, seven cabins, two self-contained units, and on-site caravans

The camp ground is owned by the Gore District Council but is leased out to Guy and Olive Lloyd.

Olive said the couple were taking legal proceedings against the person who posted the review on TripAdvisor.

When asked about the visit from the Ministry, she said she had "no comment for that".

Guy had previously told Stuff he had been talking to the council about some planned improvements at the camp.

On Friday, council chief executive Steve Parry said he had talked about the camp ground briefly with mayor Tracy Hicks recently but he was only aware of "one or two things" going on at the camp.

He was unaware MSD had visited earlier in the week.

"Clearly it's a concern. The council wants to see a well-run, trouble-free facility that is offering people coming to Gore a place to stay instead of grabbing headlines for all the wrong reasons.

"We'll need to take stock and perhaps enter into some discussions about what is going on there."

The council appointed a new leasee in April after the former leasee hit the headlines for his behaviour.

Rissman said the number of Emergency Housing Special Needs Grants in the Gore district in the June 2019 quarter was 21. This was down from 26 grants approved in the quarter before

"The campground is one of three emergency housing options currently available in Gore. The temporary nature of emergency accommodation means it's an ever-changing environment and things may be different from one day to the next – including the number of people needing urgent housing support in certain places, the availability and cost," she said.

"We acknowledge campgrounds may not be the ideal accommodation for everyone needing urgent housing help and are often a last resort. If staying in a campground is the difference between sleeping rough or in a car and the client has no concerns, we'll support them with emergency housing costs for those places."

We wish to clearly outline that the TripAdvisor review referred to in the above article was defamatory and contained many assertions that were untrue and had no foundation whatsoever.

The author of the TripAdvisor review removed it before the article was published, provided a written apology to us as well as an undertaking to desist from spreading the false allegations contained in the review and to correct the understanding of other people she had misinformed about the Gore Motor Camp and ourselves. Her actions have caused significant distress and harm to a small business, to us personally and were simply unfair.

Having taken control of the Gore Motor Camp in April 2019 we have worked tirelessly, seven days a week, to improve the facilities and conditions at the grounds. Within these seven months we have made vast improvements to both the infrastructure and aesthetics of the grounds and have put in place detailed policies and procedures within a framework which allows us to successfully control and organise the camp. These systems allow all guests to have safe and enjoyable stay with us.

Improvements to the camp over the last seven months have included a massive clean-up with the help of Council. The grounds have been tidied up with fixtures and fittings repaired or replaced as required. If anything is broken, damaged or needs servicing it is done as fast as possible. For health and safety reasons some changes have been made to some electrical appliances which is for the safety of all guests which is our highest priority.

We are continuing to improve and develop the camp and are in negotiation with various bodies to improve it further within the scope of the Council lease.

Presently we are working with various stakeholders including Government departments, Council, Police and community groups in order to deliver suitable accommodation options for overseas holiday makers, domestic travellers and vulnerable people in need of accommodation to contribute to the Gore community.

We are proud of how the Gore Motor Camp is now delivering services while being constantly on the look-out for areas to improve on and welcome positive, constructive feedback.

We hope anyone reading this will come and enjoy the hospitality, services and grounds of the Gore Motor Camp for themselves as we are sure you will have a great time exploring Gore and the wider area.

Guy Lloyd - Gore Motor Camp