Call for improved signage to help overcome camper van concerns in Amble

Reports of illegal overnight parking at the links car park have been sent to Amble Town Council.

Northumberland County Council has been informed of the incidents and asked to consider alternative and clearer wording of the signage.

Vice chairman Cllr Helen Lewis felt the parking rules had to be made clearer.

"The majority of people who pull into a car park will see the top of the sign which says that they can stay there for a maximum of 72 hours,” she said. “They don’t see the small print.”

Members felt signage similar to that in Warkworth which states ‘accommodation vehicles not allowed overnight’ could work.

Concerns regarding the disposal of waste from camper vans were also reported and this has been passed to the public protection department.

Cllr Helen Lewis said: “I don’t think anyone has a problem with council car parks being used for a longer length of time so that people can cycle up the coast or go for a longer walk or whatever but there are no facilities there for camper vans to use them overnight which is what is happening.”

Problems with over-flowing bins were also raised.

“If you see a camper van next to a full bin people are making the assumption that is where it is coming from,” said chairman Cllr Craig Weir.

"You have to monitor the situation a bit further to see if that is true.”

Cllr Jeff Watson, local county councillor, added: “At the Braid. I’ve seen no evidence of stuff being tipped out or nasty things in the bushes. It’s not a problem I can see and I am not convinced the litter in the bins is from the camper vans. I have no evidence to support that. It’s easy to blame the camper vans but proving it is a different thing.”

He said he was happy for camper vans to park there during the day as long as they did not stay overnight.

“Hopefully the huge influx we saw of camper van vehicles will subside,” he said. “It hasn’t gone away yet. There are still a lot but I do think it will ease off over the next few weeks.”

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