CAMPSITE owners and worried Highland residents have raised fears a new voluntary motorhome scheme designed to improve infrastructure could prove to be a major fire risk.
Highland Council has introduced a new initiative which will entitle campervan owners to various benefits, such as inclusive overnight parking at a network of designated car parks, if they are prepared to pay for a voluntary £40 pass.
It is designed to help improve and sustain tourist infrastructure such as public toilets across the region.
But the scheme has been met with fierce opposition by locals on the North Coast 500 (NC500) route.
Ed Hall, who lives near Gairloch in Wester Ross, has said he has serious concerns the scheme could be in breach of key fire regulations.
According to council documents, a similar scheme was proposed in Aberdeenshire in 2019 where the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) noted that if a car park is promoted as an overnight stop for motorhomes, the organisation would consider it to be a campsite.
This means that it would expect certain legislation to be accorded with, such as the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006.
A guidance document in the latter requires a full fire safety risk assessment and the establishment of fire points with facilities for raising an alarm and crucially states that the distance between any two units “should be not less than six metres”.
Campsite owners Lynn and Darren Redfern – who signed an open letter to the council over fears their business and others could be hit by the scheme – have also said they fear if a fire breaks out in a vehicle in these new designated car parks, the “consequences are unimaginable”.
Hall told The National: “If I drive my motorhome to a caravan site to stay the night, SFRS state I need to be six metres from my neighbour to ensure a fire in my van doesn't spread to their van, and vice versa.
“However, if I drive the same van, with the same gas bottles, perhaps a self-fitted log burner and cooking equipment to a ‘car park’ just down the road, I can sleep in it with no safety spacings at all, and the next van can pull in, with their kids on board, and park two feet away, to sleep for the night. How is this safe?
“We await a satisfactory answer. We fear it will take a serious fire and injury to make anyone take notice.”
Darren Redfern, who owns Dornoch Caravan and Camping Park with wife Lynn, added: “On campsites motorhomes are required to be kept a minimum of six metres apart and we are required to have firefighting equipment.
“In these potentially unsafe car parks owned by the Highland Council, motorhomes are parked often less than one metre apart, so if a fire were to break out in one vehicle, then that fire would spread quickly and the consequences are unimaginable.”
Highland Council has also been accused of not thoroughly consulting campsite owners who fear their businesses could be hit hard by the new scheme.
Redfern says the council has stated that most people stay on campsites several nights, but data they have collected suggests 70% of customers at Dornoch Caravan and Camping Park stay just one night while travelling on the NC500.
He also says he has collated data which suggests most campsites were running at 50% capacity between April and June and now fears even fewer people will be attracted to them with the scheme in place.
“We simply cannot compete and should not have to,” Redfern added.
“Several of these ‘car parks’ are very close to existing campsites, and some are even on the boundary of them.
“It is true that motorhomes can ‘rest stop’ in order to prevent people driving tired and causing accidents. However, with the introduction of this new scheme, these Highland Council car parks are no longer portrayed as a ‘rest stop’ but are instead offered as a destination.
“The Highland Council have enabled visitors to ‘rest stop’ their way around the NC500 and avoid paying for the use of a campsite.
“The Highland Council would be best placed working with our campsites as we are the experts in hosting motorhome and campervan visitors. We are looking for level playing field competition. Is that too much to ask for?”
The council says it wants to “provide choice” and “empower those touring and visiting the Highlands”. It is understood to be the first scheme of its kind in the UK.
Area Commander Chris Getty, who works within prevention, protection and preparedness at the SFRS, said: “We continue to work closely with stakeholders, including Highland Council, to ensure the safety of the public, firefighters, and partners.
“Where a relevant premises wants to consider using its car park for overnight motorhome parking, it should be carefully risk-assessed for fire safety and reflected within the premises' fire safety risk assessment.
“Whilst a car park is not typically covered by fire legislation, if it is being advertised as an overnight stop for motorhomes, SFRS strongly recommends that the information outlined in the Scottish Government's guidance for existing premises with sleeping accommodation is taken into consideration.”
A Highland Council spokesperson said: “The Voluntary ‘Highland Campervan and Motorhome Scheme’ is intended to support and complement campsites, and all businesses operating within the tourism sector in the Highlands.
"There will be consequential benefits across the broad range of businesses and organisations which support the sector. The economic and social benefits, employment, skills and training that are created and supported from visitor spending are also material. The 12 designated overnight parking sites incorporated into the voluntary Highland Campervan and Motorhome Scheme have been operating since 2022 and the policy which prevents a vehicle from returning within 72 hours to park overnight, continues to operate.
“In collaboration with the tourism sector, the council’s aims are to welcome both domestic and international visitors to enjoy our natural landscape, celebrated culture, high quality produce and products, wildlife and so much more, while promoting responsible tourism and investing in sustainable infrastructure and our environment.
“The council welcomes stakeholder feedback and will continue to work in collaboration with sector representatives to promote campsites, local attractions, eating places, our world renowned produce and products, and more. "
