Motorhome and campervan owners have been warned of upcoming charges for overnight parking across a popular tourist region.
The charges come after the Highland Council’s Sutherland County Committee meeting unanimously agreed to start charging drivers for overnight stays with rulebreakers given heavy fines.
The charges will impact car parks in popular locations in Durness and Golspie on the NC500 route and will impose a £10 fee per night.
Under the current rules, visitors can only stay for a single night and are prohibited from returning within 72 hours. If found to break the rules they can be given a penalty charge of £100, reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days.
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The restrictions are estimated to cost the council up to £40,000 to implement
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The motion brought to the table by councillors Richard Gale and Jim McGillivray stated: “Given the impact of overnight parking of campervans in council car parks leading to inappropriate waste disposal and other anti-social behaviour.
“The Sutherland Area Committee agrees to impose a ban on all overnight campervan and motorhome parking in council car parks in the County of Sutherland, with signage being put in place to direct them to alternative parking options in the local area.”
At the council meeting, Gale explained that he had been “bombarded” with emails from angry residents, all of which were calling for new enforcements to be introduced.
Despite being approved by the council, officers did warn of significant financial implications with enforcement costs ranging from £4,100 to £41,000. It also included a one-off cost for signage and marking changes which would cost £1,000.
However, Councillor Hugh Morrison added: “The community councils in certain areas of Sutherland along the NC500 are very unhappy about the way Highland Council have dumped these mobile homes in the centre of their villages through this overnight scheme, which is only an invitation to pay anyway. There are no amenities close to these car parks as well.”
The report did acknowledge the risk of potential additional costs associated with Road Traffic Orders but due to there being no quantifiable evidence yet, it would simply be an assumption of additional costs.
The need for more enforcement follows reports that almost 36,000 motorhomes visit the Highlands a year with dedicated parking spaces needed to help crack down on anti-social behaviour and inconsiderate littering.
Before the restrictions were introduced, the Highland Council introduced its Campervan and Motorhome Scheme last year which gave drivers access to 12 council-owned car parks for a fee of £40.
The pass lasts for seven days and was made a voluntary measure in a bid to encourage responsible parking and staying by motorhome and campervan owners.
But while the scheme had good intentions, it has been poorly received by owners with less than 40 permits sold since being rolled out in August.
Conservative Councillor Edward Mountain called for the scheme to be removed following its lack of interest by drivers and warned that unless it’s scrapped it could cost £2million.
He said: “What we should be doing is encouraging the 27 per cent of motorhome users on the NC500 who don’t use campsites to go into local campsites and use the facilities there. The council going into competition with these businesses is madness, especially as six weeks into the scheme, they have sold less than 40 permits.”
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The decision will be officially introduced during the full council meeting on March 6. The proposal document also detailed how the restrictions are intended to have a positive impact on the local rural community by limiting motorhomes from overnight parking to designated sites.
