New Scarborough parking restrictions plan to address ‘displacement’

​Further restrictions could be introduced to address complaints from Scarborough residents who have highlighted the ‘displacement effects’ of the overnight ban on campervans at Royal Albert Drive.

​​An Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) was introduced to restrict the vehicles at Sandsend, Royal Albert Drive, and Cayton Bay after the number of motorhomes had reached an “unacceptable level”.

​However, according to councillors, thousands of complaints have also been made by residents who are “waking up to campervans parked outside their windows”.

​Cllr Rich Maw, who represents Weaponness and Ramshill, said: “As I’ve previously warned, the introduction of this ETRO would displace campervans to surrounding streets.

​“Residents in South Cliff are now experiencing the consequences with camperavans parked outside their homes for long periods, increased police callouts, antisocial behaviour, the use of council assets without permission, and grey water being poured into surface drains at a time when we are actively trying ot improve the bathing water quality in the South Bay.”

​Speaking at a full meeting of North Yorkshire Council on Wednesday (March 18) he said: “If the Royal Albert Drive ETRO is to become permanent, residents in affected streets – and that includes Holbeck Road, Esplanade Crescent, and Belvedere Road – must be properly considered.

​“What immediate steps will the council take to protect residential amenity in these streets? Will additional ETROs be introduced in these streets to address the impact of displaced campervans?”

​“How will the council ensure that environmental and public health concerns, including water quality, are not compromised by unmanaged overnight camping in residential streets? Scarborough residents should not be expected to pay the price for a policy that was implemented without adequate mitigation.”

​North Yorkshire Council has plans to permanently prohibit the overnight stopping of campervans in Sandsend, near Whitby, and North Bay in Scarborough​.

​Cllr Malcolm Taylor, NYC’s executive member for highways and transportation, said the council could introduce additional traffic regulation orders “at some key residential hotspots in Scarborough”.

​He told the full meeting: “We do recognise that other areas in Scarborough, Whitby, and Sandsend have seen an increase in overnight caravan parking, and some objectors state that this is because of the restrictions of the ETROs.

​“A report is coming to the executive members’ meeting on Friday, March 27, for consideration, and it would be prudent to start looking at consultations on introducing some traffic regulation orders, similar to the ETROs, at some key residential hotspots in Scarborough, including the Esplanade and the South Cliff area that you represent.

“I think it’s also important to mention that I do get representations from other interested parties, such as the caravan owners in Scarborough, caravan park owners who invest in their sites and provide facilities and employment, and contribute to the economic development in Scarborough, and they are equally interested in this item.”