Call for clampdown on overnight campervan parking in Northumberland coastal car park

Cllr Jeff Watson is keen to avoid a repeat of some of the overnight parking issues which occurred at Warkworth’s Dunes car park last summer.

"The beach road car park in Warkworth is very popular and had a lot of issues last year with campervans,” he told a coastal summit of key stakeholders.

"We have signs up which say ‘no campervans’ but I don’t think we do anything about it so I am hoping with the extra enforcement being put on this year we will try and do that and make sure the odd ticket or two is put on.

"I know it is very difficult for our people to do that because it’s not sufficient to find a vehicle parked there. They have got to actually prove it’s been there overnight.

"I am not saying it has to be done every day but once or twice and the word would get out, otherwise we might as well take the sign down.”

Cllr Watson, county councillor for Amble West with Warkworth, added: "It is such a popular and important site and I don’t think we pay enough attention to it.”

Northumberland County Council is considering a number of measures to combat some of the issues which blighted coastal communities last summer ahead of what is expected to be another busy season.

Plans include more parking enforcement, increased seasonal parking capacity and attempts to disperse visitors more evenly around the county.

Overnight parking for motorhomes could also be permitted in some Northumberland car parks this summer.

Paul Jones, the council’s director of local services, said: "We think there are a number of locations where that would be permissable but we need to manage the numbers at those locations.

"But as part of that approach there has to be enforcement as well.

“It is difficult because you have to be able to demonstrate that they have slept in the vehicle but we will have additional staffing resource available to support that activity.

“Last year we had 24 fixed penalty notices issued for overnight stays in our car parks so it is something we were enforcing last year despite the difficulties.”

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