Stopover plan to put end to dirty camping
A network of low-cost stopovers for campervans and caravans will b e created in the Highlands to cope with a rise in visitors and the scourge of dirty camping.
Highland Council has pro - posed a site for up to 30 vehicles in North Kessock on the Black Isle, near Inverness, with the public and landowners being asked for their views on other small sites.
Inspired by the Aires continental model, the stopovers are not classed as campsites but offer a place to stay overnight as well as providing safe waste disposal.
Farmers with spare fields and people with extra large gardens are being asked to consider offering stopping places.
The move to better accommodate campervans and caravans in the Highlands comes after a surge of visitors to the north as the spring lockdown eased and people sought out staycation holidays.
Highland Council hopes they could be a "safe place" for some of the thousands of vehicles which arrive every year.
The sites could also help tackle anti-social behaviour, such as waste being disposed of in laybys and burns, which became an issue as campsites and public toilets were close to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Black Isle councillor Gordon Adam said he understood the appeal of campervans and caravans during the health crisis.
He said: "It's a very safe way to travel in this Covid era. You are kind of insulated. Just now we don't have sufficient numbers of places really where they can safely stay.
"If they don't have a place where they can safely stay it is more likely they will park illegally and they might even dispose of their waste illegally as well."
He said it was hoped that an Aires system could be in place
for next year's tourist season.
C o mmuni t i e s a r o u n d t h e N o r t h C o a s t 5 0 0 r o u t e a t Lochinver, Helmsdale, B onar Bridge and Cromarty have p l a n s to de ve l o p ove r n i g h t parking sites for motorhomes.
It comes as the North Coast 500 plans for a resurgence in visitors post-pandemic and how to accomodate them.maxine Smith, chairwoman of Highland Council's tourism committee, said landowners might be
interested in providing the "simple short-stay facilities", adding: "It may be that you are a farmer with a spare field or someone with an extra-large garden.."