‘Highland Council are right to embrace the campervan community’, readers give their views on controversial scheme
People in the Highlands have been giving their views on the Highland Council’s controversial new motorhome scheme.
Many campsite owners across the north of Scotland are ‘furious’ at the scheme, which will allow motorhome users to purchase a voluntary seven day pass to stay in 12 designated carparks overnight and use amenities.
Readers have now written in to share their views on the matter.
Communities should be enabled to run their own sites
“As a small camper van owner who actually also lives in the Highlands, I do not agree with the £40 pass.
“Nor do I agree entirely with the campsite owners as I think campsite fees in the UK are ridiculously high (compared with France where I am at the moment).
“As an example we have just booked into a three-star campsite in Provence which also has a swimming pool for four nights for the sum total of 89 Euros.
“There are also not enough small campsites in the Highlands either.
“The local communities should be enabled to open up their own small camping areas (aires) with some minimal services such as fresh water, toilet disposal and in some areas use of a toilet and possibly EHU.
“Each community should be able to set their own charge per night maximum of between £5 and £10 per night depending on facilities provided and should be able to keep all of the revenue within their own community council area.
“It could go towards the upkeep of local facilities such as toilets but should not be spent on mending the potholes for which I and other Highland residents already pay tax for.
“I don’t expect to pay for roads in France so why should visitors to the Highlands pay for roads in Scotland. Incidentally, even the small rural roads over here in France are well maintained. No potholes! It works in France so why not in the Highlands?” - Anonymous
Two types of campervan holidays
“I think there is a fundamental misunderstanding about the nature of campervan holidays. There are two distinct types of user:
“Firstly, there is the family holiday where a site is booked in advance for a Motorhome. This market is well catered for by commercial sites.
“Secondly, there is the touring Campervan holiday where a parking place is needed for one or two nights, with minimal facilities, nothing booked in advance, freedom to roam around Scotland, and decisions being made on a day-by-day basis depending on the weather.
“This second type of user is never going to book sites in advance and in fact actively avoids commercial holiday parks.
“It is this type of user for which the Council scheme is perfect if we are to cut down on overnight parking in every possible lay-by.
“This is far better than the situation which has developed in Dornoch where the beach car parks now all ban overnight parking and employ a warden to actively chase away camper vans. Where are the tourers to go…they park in inappropriate places annoying the residents, even sleeping in their vans parked on the street.
“I think that the council are right to embrace the Campervan community with this new scheme and make a little money from it as well.
“I think that the commercial site owners are unlikely to suffer any loss as a result. Of course they could embrace the situation as well by making their service points available during the quiet time of the day to enable tourers empty and re-fill their tanks for a nominal sum of say £10 and maybe use the shower block for a day fee as well, a system I have observed on sites in Brittany.” - Ian Hazell
