Hundreds hit with camping law warnings
HUNDREDS of people have been handed warnings and 10 have been reported to prosecutors for breaching new laws on camping in a national park.
A report prepared for Scottish ministers revealed 828 people were issued with warnings by police or Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park rangers for alleged contraventions of the new restrictions.
During the first year of the controversial byelaws, 10 cases were reported to the Crown Office relating to unauthorised camping, firelighting, refusing to provide details and refusing to leave when asked to do so.
The byelaws, i n place between March and September, restrict camping along much of the shores of Loch Lomond as well as busy l och shores near Aberfoyle, Strathyre and Lochearnhead.
Park authorities say the four camping management zones – which cover less than 4% of the park area – are needed to tackle longstanding problems with anti-social behaviour, litter and environmental damage, but they were fiercely opposed by outdoor recreation groups and campaigners for access rights.
Those wanting to camp have to buy a permit or use official sites, with the report revealing that while more than 16,000 people did so, the average occupancy rate across all of the camping permit areas was only 15%, and 22% at Loch Chon campsite.
Challenges identified by the park for future years include the monitoring of potential displacement of campers to other nearby areas, the level of resources needed to maintain the byelaws in the long-term and continuing problems with litter and human waste.
Helen Todd, campaigns and policy manager at Ramblers Scotland, said: “This new report shows that these costly byelaws are deterring people from camping, criminalising responsible campers and failing to resolve many of the issues they were designed to tackle.”
Gordon Watson, the park’s chief executive, said: “While warnings were issued, the number was small in proportion to the overall number of visitors and only a very small number of people were then reported to the procurator fiscal.”