Call to accelerate plans for campervan sites in the Cairngorms National Park
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A call has been made to expedite plan applications already in the pipeline for proposed campervan sites in the strath in time to meet the expected summer rush.
Cairngorms National Park Authority member John Kirk urged for planners to get a move on with the applications so that demand can be met and last summer's problems safely negotiated.
He told the latest CNPA planning committee meeting: "The season is on us – just five weeks away – and we are sitting with no facilities for these people when they all head north."
Gavin Miles, CNPA chief planner, confirmed there were four campervan sites currently in the planning system for the national park.
He said: "These are moving at various speeds and we are doing as much as we can but obviously they need to be applications that are capable of being recommended for approval and to take to the planning committee.
"We need more information on some of them. We are working with them as fast as we can but like any planning application the speed is related to how good the information is that has been provided.
"If we do not have enough information then we can not take a proposal forward with the recommendation to approve."
Mr Kirk then sought clarification on what the planning policy is for farmers and other landowners wanting to host campervans and motorhomes on a one-night basis.
He said: "There has been talk of this being allowed in the national park..."
Mr Miles said he was not sure in what context there had been talk of this but continued: "Certainly planning authorities are encouraged to take a flexible approach to enforcement but that still depends on the impacts of the development.
"Anyone can use land for 28 days without requiring planning permission so that is always open to anybody but as far as new developments are concerned then planning permission would be required and caravan and camping sites can require licences as well."
Mr Kirk responded: "It is not as a permanent site but on a temporary basis for folk coming in off the road.
"A lot of people have been inundated with campervans and motorhomes going to the wrong places and it is probably easier to open a field and let them in and get a fee for that than them having to park in their own places on the farms."
Xander McDade, park board convener, then recommended those affected could point people to the Camping and Caravanning Club website where, he said, there was a lot of information on setting up small sites and the planning regulations.
Board member Willie McKenna said that the influx of campervans had already started in the Aviemore and Rothiemurchus area.
He observed: "Unfortunately we are going to have all the associated problems before we get the planning permissions, if we ever do get them."
Murray Ferguson, the CNPA's director of planning and place, agreed the Camping and Caravanning Club was a useful source of information for hosting campervans.
He said a project jointly funded with the Cairngorms Business Partnership was at an advanced stage to provide an information leaflet and map to guide people to the best locations.
Mr Ferguson also said they would also be applying this year for funds from VisitScotland's strategic development fund for infrastructure and try to identify sites in addition to those who have already made approaches to the CNPA to develop campervan facilties locally.
"I do appreciate the concern about this and we are moving on as actively as we possibly can," he told the committee.
