Landowners, businesses and communities are being encouraged to sign up to a new scheme to provide overnight parking for motorhomes and camper vans.
Argyll and Bute Council says it will help people make some extra income as well as providing safe overnight parking for motorcaravans.
It has calculated that if five vans, each paying £5, use a site seven days a week for 30 weeks, the annual revenue would be £5,250.
Motorcaravan overnight parking areas, or aires, are set up on private land, such as a field or private car park, and provide a safe place for a maximum of five vehicles to stop for the night.
The council says they are popular throughout Europe and are considered a convenient en-route stopover rather than a holiday destination or for a longer stay.
Policy lead for the economy and rural growth Robin Currie said: “More than 16,000 new motorcaravans were registered in the UK between July 2020 and June 2021 but, although there are more vehicles on the road, the services to accommodate safe overnight parking have not developed at the same pace.
“This is something we witnessed first hand over the summer months, with many motorcaravan owners resorting to parking in unsuitable places.
“Motorcaravan overnight parking can help reduce this by giving these motorists the opportunity to stop in a safe place and get their head down for the night, before moving on.
“It is relatively easy to register your land as a motorcaravan overnight parking area, and it is simple to run as the site can be unmanned and payment can be either by an honesty box, or via a simple payment system.”
The sites can be available all year round, or for shorter seasonal periods.
There is no requirement to provide onsite facilities such as toilets, showers or electric hook-ups.
If you are interested in making some extra income and providing a safe overnight stopover for motorcaravans, visit the council website for more information.
Yet again Argyll & Bute Council are passing the buck quicker than Westminster passes the Prime Minister baton. Welcome to Argyll & Bute. If you are lucky you might find a farmer good enough to take a fiver off you for parking in a muddy field overnight. You won’t be able to plug into an electricity supply or empty your toilet tank and the Council will not have done any checks to ensure your safety but we hope you wipe the mud and cowpats off your boots before you spend your money in our shops, pubs, restaurants and public toilet (if you can find it!). It would make more sense for Argyll & Bute to use some of the land it owns to build fully facilitated van sites to bring in money direct to the Council coffers while encouraging tourists who will in turn keep local businesses going, create jobs and add greatly to the local economy?
Couldn’t agree more, I’ve caravanned all over in France, Spain and many other places they are on the ball with places to stay normally within walking distance of a town or village. We spend a considerable amount on eating out and all this money going into the local economy.
It normally costs between 5 and 10 Euros per night with a couple of Euros if you require internet. A place to empty your waste water is provided along with a facility to empty your toilet. All the money raised through these facilities will then be put back into the local council and therefore benefit local people.
Argyll and Bute council want everything for nothing, what do you expect from a council that spend 6 million on the town then can’t even maintain the gardens. I notice now that they have asked residents to contact their local MP to badger the SG for more money, if they were more efficient at running the council and stopped creating jobs not needed then they might have more money for facilities for the people who actually pay their wages.
Unless this council acts soon and takes care of a town that is falling down no tourists will want to come here anyway.
Could. be better as said if AB Council did make land available!
What land are you all talking about that the council supposedly owns?
Don, Do a FOI request to the Council asking what land they own and what land they own which is not being used. You and the Council might be surprised at the results.
Below is just a list of carparks not other land that the council own or have control over. Even if two or three spaces were set aside for the above then it would benifit the community. This is exactly how this is run in France, Spain etc so why can’t A&B Council do the same?
Glenloin No 1 A83(T) Arrochar G83 7AJ 45
Glenloin No 2 A83(T) Arrochar G83 7AL 65
Argyll Street Argyll Street Dunoon PA23 7DX 50
Coal Pier Alexandra Parade Dunoon PA23 7LU 100
Jane Villa Argyll Street Dunoon PA23 7QT 64
Moir Street Moir Street Dunoon PA23 8AA 61
Swimming Pool 2 Alexandra Parade Dunoon PA23 8AE 20
Maitland Street Maitland Street Helensburgh G84 7PD 32
Colquhoun Square Colquhoun Sqaure Helensburgh G84 8AQ 82
Helensburgh Pier West Clyde Street Helensburgh G84 8SQ 552
Opposite Semples Garage A83 Inveraray PA32 8UE 28
The Avenue The Avenue Inveraray PA32 8UQ 81
Front Street Front Street Inveraray PA32 8UY 32
Coffee House Ferry Land Inveraray PA32 8XA 15
Old Toll House Old A82 Luss G83 8PG 250
Craignure Toilets Craignure Mull PA65 6AX 17
Iona Ferry 1 Fionnphort Mull PA66 6BL 22
Iona Ferry 2 Fionnphort Mull PA66 6BL 55
Market Street Market Street Oban PA34 4HR 18
Albany Street Albany Street Oban PA34 4QT 36
Corran Halls 2 Corran Esplanade Oban PA34 5AB 57
Tweeddale Street Tweeddale Street Oban PA34 5DD 90
Esplanade Corran Esplanade Oban PA34 5PW 26
North Pier Corran Esplanade Oban PA34 5PZ 70
Guilford Square Rothesay Rothesay PA20 9AR 38