Campervans

Council raises concerns over wild camping.

A community council in Highland Perthshire has raised concerns about the influx of campervans and motorhomes staying overnight in car parks and laybys.

Tourists have been parking up at sites in Dunkeld close to people’s homes, raising concerns about disturbances and disposal of waste.

Stuart Paton, chairman of the town’s community council, says a solution needs to be found that works for both the residents of Dunkeld and the growing numbers of tourists who want to visit the area.

He said: “We’ve definitely seen an increase in the number of campervans using sites around Dunkeld and a general rise in wild camping as well.

“On the whole it has been well managed but it has become a problem in Dunkeld where it’s beside homes and it becomes intrusive.

“There’s also the issue of human waste as a lot of the smaller vans don’t have facilities so there is a concern there.”

One of the main points of contention is around the Rumbling Bridge car park which leads to the Hermitage.

Mr Paton said: “Because of the vans there’s not a lot of available space for other people who want to use the car park to go walking.”

The community council has suggested a number of ways to tackle the problem, including erecting signs to ask people not to park overnight and working with tourism operators in Dunkeld to provide facilities.

Mr Paton said: “At Rumbling Bridge there shouldn’t really be any overnight parking because it’s quite small and quite close to other houses, also there’s not a lot of facilities.

“Perhaps either pubs or hotels can offer access to tourists and see what we can do for people who want to come here and use campervans that also works for the local community.”

The community council also backed Highland Perthshire SNP councillor Mike Williamson’s bid to introduce localised measures to tackle issues around campervans and wild camping.

Mr Williamson said: “We’re trying to find out what the hot spots are and what interventions we can make at these hot spots.

“That may mean that at sites like Rumbling Bridge we have specific interventions.”

The private landowner for Rumbling Bridge did not respond to a request for comment.

“On the whole it has been well managed but it has become a problem. STUART PATON