Permanent parking sites open up for campervan tourists
Dedicated tourist sites for campervans have reopened in both Ayr and Girvan.
The spots at Blackburn Road, Ayr and Knockcushan Street, Girvan are up and running, following a pilot project run by South Ayrshire Council.
Officials have since made the facilities permanent.
Three other campervan sites at Ballantrae (The Vennel car park); Prestwick (Links Road car park); and Troon (North Shore Road car park) will open from Friday.
Unlike the Ayr and Girvan sites, these campervan bays are seasonal and will run until September 30.
The expanded scheme will see campervans and motorhomes now able to stay for three consecutive nights. However, parking fees have doubled to £10 per night, which will give access to waste disposal, including chemical waste facilities. Those staying at the Girvan site will also have access to on-site toilet and washroom facilities.
After three nights, campervans must leave the site before 6pm the following day and can’t return for 24 hours.
No caravans are allowed in the parking bays and those in campervans will not be able to set up tents or awnings or run generators outside their vans.
The parking bays can’t be booked in advance, so access is based on a first come, first served basis. Payment is made on arrival via a cashless parking system.
Penalty charge notices may be issued to anyone who uses the designated campervan bays for any vehicle other than a campervan or motorhome.
There will also be ‘no overnight parking regulations’ on nearby streets and penalty charge notices will be issued to anyone who chooses to ignore the regulations.
South Ayrshire Council’s Kevin Carr said: “Following the success of the pilot scheme last year, we’ve listened to the feedback and decided to expand the number of sites and prolong the length of stay.
“If the parking bays at Ballantrae, Prestwick and Troon prove popular, we’ll look to make them permanent, as we’ve already done in Girvan and Ayr.
“Officers from the Ayrshire Roads Alliance will monitor the streets surrounding these sites to discourage illegal parking and issue fines as appropriate.”