UK motorhome and campervan owners face £100 parking fines under new rules

Motorhome and campervan owners are to be slapped with a new £100 fine for overnight stays at a popular tourist spot.

The new overnight ban will affect Highland campervan travellers along the NC500 route, who can currently use council car parks in Durness and Golspie for £10 a night.

The parking ban follows an array of complaints from residents about “anti-social behaviour” and “inappropriate waste disposal”.

Highland Council’s Sutherland County Committee has unanimously agreed to recommend the ban at the two key car parks, with the council’s parking enforcement team set to start policing overnight stays soon.

The ban aims to limit overnight campervan parking to only designated caravan and camping sites.

Parking penalty charges are currently £100 but are reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days.

Championing the policy after tabling a motion, councillor Jim McGillivray said campervan owners regularly ignore signs in Dornoch warning against overnight stays, despite a private campsite being just a short distance away.

There are, however, concerns that such a proposal could cause displaced campervans to instead park in laybys or engage in wild camping, potentially causing greater disruption in rural areas.

The full council will now be asked to approve the ban.

A ban would prove costly to implement, with council officers fearing that enforcement could rack up bills of more than £40,000.

Additional costs could range from £4,100 to cover overtime for current staff to £41,000 if new full-time enforcement staff are required.

Further changes to signs and markings, indicating overnight visitors are no longer welcome in the car parks, are estimated to cost £1,000.