News Beat
Town council backs ‘controlled overnight parking’ on Marine Drive
Scarborough Town Council will request that North Yorkshire Council “reconsider the current overnight parking ban for motorhomes and campervans on Marine Drive and nearby seafront roads,” due to the scheme’s “unintended consequences”.
In a letter, penned by STC’s Community and Place Committee, the authority states that “while the original Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) was introduced with good intentions, the blanket ban has produced several unintended consequences that are now negatively affecting both residents and visitors”.
It adds: “We believe a more balanced, controlled, and enforceable approach would better address the issues faced by the community while supporting responsible tourism and relieving pressure on residential areas.”
Last month it was revealed that thousands of complaints have been made about motorhome owners parking outside people’s houses since North Yorkshire Council banned the vehicles from parking overnight in three areas.
Several proposals for improvements have been made by Cllr Sarah Mason, including introducing a paid overnight parking scheme, allowing overnight parking during set hours, the use of a pre-approved permit or licence system, as well as dedicated bay markings for campervans.
At a committee meeting on Wednesday, December 17, councillors urged NYC to also ensure that displacement from the ban is taken into consideration.
The letter states: “Following the introduction of the ban, many campervans have moved into residential streets that were never affected previously. This displacement has led to noise and disturbance during night-time hours, concerns about inappropriate waste disposal, competition for limited resident parking spaces, and increased tension between local residents and visitors.
“These are precisely the problems the ban sought to avoid, yet they have now been pushed into neighbourhoods where enforcement is harder, and disruption is more noticeable.
“Allowing controlled overnight parking on Marine Drive would help resolve this displacement.”
