A MOTORHOME parking scheme introduced by Highland Council to increase its revenue over the summer has been slammed by a group of campsite owners.
The British Holiday and Home Parks Association (Scotland) has called for an “urgent re-think" by Highland Council to open 12 public car parks to motorhome users at a charge of just £40 a week.
The association, which represents around 200 parks in Scotland, said there has been no consultation on the proposal that first emerged to generate revenue in this year’s budget.
The motorhome scheme allows overnight parking from 10pm to 8am at designated car parks along the North Coast 500 route in Inverness, Nairn, Caithness, Sutherland and Wester Ross, with free daily access to showering and changing in any High Life Highland leisure location.
Almost 30 local campsites have said they are being left out of pocket over the scheme, as association members have claimed they are now competing with the council and are already reporting lower occupancy rates.
In a joint letter to Highland Council calling for the scheme to be scrapped, the group wrote: “This new scheme which allows the user to access most of the facilities they need for the very low price of £40 for a week now makes your carparks a destination in their own right rather than a handy one night stop-over.
“Visitors will now plan their entire trip around your car park options and by-pass campsites altogether. Caravan parks cannot compete and we should not have to. We have strict health and safety guidelines to adhere to.
“We have crippling bills in the form of VAT, business rates, refuse collection, electricity etc. As a result, we need to charge over £25 per pitch per night just to cover costs.
“As the Highland Council, you have somehow managed to by-pass all health and safety regulations and TAX burdens. Instead you have used tax payers money to facilitate this new cheap option.”
‘Potentially illegal’, says Fergus Ewing
SNP MSP for Inverness and Nairn Fergus Ewing (below), who was a former minister for tourism, said the council’s scheme was “potentially illegal” as it risks breaching fire safety laws.
Ewing said: “I hope the Highland Council will work with the existing businesses that provide quality, safe spaces for mobile vans, including campervans.
“The use of car parks will, as the BH&HPA point out, risk beaching laws with regard to fire safety - rules which are rigorously applied to caravan sites.
“This is unfair to the existing businesses and potentially illegal and unsafe for holiday makers.
“Moreover the Scottish Government must restore its Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund which used to fund solutions - solutions the Council cannot themselves fund.”
