Dozens of caravan parks up in arms as Highland Council undercuts them with ‘unsafe’ motorhome parking scheme that Fergus Ewing warns is ‘potentially illegal’
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, says there has been no consultation on the proposal that first emerged as a way to generate revenue in this year’s budget.
The motorhome scheme allows overnight parking from 22.00 to 08.00 at designated car parks in Inverness, Nairn, Caithness, Sutherland and Wester Ross with free daily access to showering and changing in any High Life Highland leisure location.
Nearly 30 local camping sites that provide motorhome facilities say they are being left out of pocket by the council which both the association and operators claim means using car parks that do not comply with safety regulations.
The impact is already being felt with association members, most of whom are smaller family-owned businesses, claiming that while paying business rates they are now competing with the council and are already reporting lower occupancy rates.
They wrote a joint letter to the council calling for the scheme to be halted, the letter stated: “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.”
They appear to have the support of Fergus Ewing MSP Inverness and Nairn and former minister for tourism for six years.
He 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.”
Parkdean Resorts is the UK’s largest holiday park business which operates Grannie’s Heilan’ Hame Holiday Park and Nairn Lochloy Holiday Park is also up in arms about the proposals.
A spokesman said: “It’s worrying that this development potentially sets apart local authority spaces from the regulations that all other holiday park operators must adhere to.
"Risks such as fire and gas management and waste disposal arrangements appear not to have been addressed as the Highland Council opens up its car park spaces for wider motorhome use. We would readily welcome wider consultation on this issue.”
According to the association, Scottish Government guidance states that units should be not less than six metres apart in order to help avoid the spread of fire but “motorhomes will not be properly distanced from each other at council car parks.”
It also said that “with no proper facilities for motorhome car park users to discharge waste” an environmental hazard could be created by the dumping of effluent in the countryside.
The association concludes, saying: “By overlooking these issues the council risks creating health, safety and environmental threats whilst undermining the businesses of professionally managed parks”.
The director for Scotland at the association, Sarah Allanson, said: “A local authority should not be allowed to use its powers to relax health and safety rules and undercut local businesses.
"There has been no consultation over the plans to turn council car parks into budget stopover sites for motorhome users and no explanation as to why industry health and safety regulations will not apply to the council-owned carpark scheme.
"There are real fire-safety and environmental risks at stake, in addition to the impact it will have on responsible park businesses and the local people whose jobs rely on them. We will continue our efforts to engage with Highland Council and have requested a meeting as soon as possible.”
When the council launched its scheme on July 1 this year, Allan Gunn, assistant chief executive (corporate), said: “The launch of the Highland Campervan and Motorhome Scheme is understood to be the first of its kind by any UK local authority.
“‘Conscious travellers’ who opt for the seven-day pass have access to scheme benefits that will support continued improvements to services such as public toilets, wastewater infrastructure, and environmental and ecological protections.
“There is an identified need for facilities to accommodate campervans, motorhomes, roof tents and people who are using vehicles for short stayovers. This scheme offers an opportunity for the Council to continue to support local priorities relating to tourism and visitor management.
He added: “The Highland Council has also committed funds that will be invested towards improving the existing infrastructure and to provide more council-owned sites.”
