Latest news with #campervans
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Will new plans solve parking woes in Peak District tourist hotspot?
The Peak District village of Castleton offers some of the national park's most spectacular views. Its rural location - next to the impressive Mam Tor - makes it an ideal spot to escape the hustle and bustle of modern life. But there is a problem. Growing numbers of visitors in recent years - thought to have been prompted by TikTok videos and the increasing popularity of campervans - have led to major parking problems, causing tension between tourists and locals. Now Derbyshire County Council is fighting back. The authority hopes a raft of new planned parking restrictions - comprising a mixture of "red routes", double yellow lines and parking bays with time restrictions - will ease the situation and make life easier for its residents. But will the new approach work? Much of the ire from locals appears to be focused on Old Mam Tor Road, which runs out of the village up Mam Tor and is known as the "Broken Road", because it was split by a landslide. In recent years, it has become a magnet for motorhomes. James Spence has lived in Castleton for seven years after moving up from Bedfordshire. He told the BBC he had come across toilet paper, human waste and loo chemicals left behind by those embracing the "campervan life". "It's just not decent human behaviour when you are visiting a beautiful, picturesque part of the world," he said. The 54-year-old said he had spotted some campervanners leaving toilet paper and excrement behind trees. "Some of these vans haven't got a chemical toilet, so they've got to go to the toilet somewhere," he said. Mr Spence said any measure was better than nothing, but he felt concerned there were no restrictions planned for the top end of the Broken Road. "A lot of people turned up during Covid and I don't think some of them ever left. They stay up there for longer periods of time," he said. "There is still concern about emptying chemical toilets and waste and rubbish that tends to pile up around there." Gary Glennerster runs Dunscar Farm, which looks across Old Mam Tor Road. "There is nothing wrong with the people and they are not committing a crime, but it is the sheer volume of them. It's an eyesore," he said. He thinks the council should be charging people to park on the road, because he says their vehicles contribute little to the local economy. Meanwhile, Jonnie Collins – from the campaign group Concerned for Castleton – says two volunteers go to the area where campervans are gathered on Broken Road once a week, and usually return with at least two bins bags full of rubbish. He believes the county council will have a major challenge enforcing the planned parking restrictions because staff already have a large area to cover. "I accept walking around cities or towns, there is rubbish but other than volunteers, there is nobody to clear it up and what annoys me most is we know the hotspots where there is excrement - but the authorities don't seem to be willing to try and stop it happening," he said. High Peak Borough Council, which is responsible for bins in the area, said it carried out "year-round campaigns to educate people and encourage responsible visits". "We'll continue to work with our partners to support people in Castleton with the impact caused by a very high volume of visitors to the village," a spokesperson added. Figures obtained by the National Caravan Council - from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) - show 16,447 motorhomes were registered in 2024 - almost double the 8,733 recorded in 2014. Countries around the world, including the UK, have seen a large increase in recent years of people living and travelling in converted vans, with a spike in the search term #vanlife on social media. Martin Dorey, an author and environmentalist, has written books about camper vans and presented BBC Two programme One Man and His Campervan - about travelling across Europe in one of the vehicles. He says campervanning became much more popular during the Covid pandemic, because hotels were closed and camper vans are self-contained. "I think social media has also got something to do with it," Martin added. "But I am not going to blame it. Social media has brought more things to the attention of more people, whether it's vans, whether it is sport or whatever. "I don't think we should demonise #vanlife just because it has got a hashtag. It's always been popular." Bob Riley stays on the Broken Road two or three times a year in his fully-fitted Fiat Ducato van, which cost him £85,000. The 64-year-old told the BBC he had never dropped litter, and had not noticed any of the problems people in Castleton were reporting. "They have obviously seen something that I haven't," he said. "I have seen lots of friends and family having a good time and leaving no trace. "It's a good life, if you respect the area, respect the locals and do the right thing." The county council's public consultation on the new parking restrictions is due to conclude on 8 August before the authority decides whether to implement the plans as they are or revise them. Charlotte Hill, cabinet member for potholes, highways and transport, said: "Our road safety team have been working with Castleton Parish Council to try and identify ways to better manage parking in the village. "Castleton is a beautiful place to visit, but the roads were never designed for the kinds of traffic volumes - and the size of vehicles - that we see today. "For the past few years, there have been concerns about inconsiderate parking, and some motorists not understanding the restrictions that are currently in place. "We hope that our proposals will help local people, make things clearer for visitors and reduce disruption to help make sure visitors enjoy the beauty of our county. "Alongside our proposals to restrict parking, we will also look to enforce the restrictions robustly with our team of parking attendants, to ensure traffic can move safely and smoothly in the area, reducing congestion and unnecessary delays." It is a tricky balancing act for the council as it tries to keep residents and visitors happy - and the coming months will tell us how successfully it has managed to do this. The full list of parking proposals can be found here. Follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. More on this story New rules aim to stop Peak District parking pests Parking chaos and poo: The price of Mam Tor's fame 'TikTok craze behind beauty spot parking issues' Peak District litter issues 'are getting worse' Related internet links Derbyshire County Council High Peak Borough Council
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Will new plans solve parking woes in Peak District tourist hotspot?
The Peak District village of Castleton offers some of the national park's most spectacular rural location - next to the impressive Mam Tor - makes it an ideal spot to escape the hustle and bustle of modern there is a numbers of visitors in recent years - thought to have been prompted by TikTok videos and the increasing popularity of campervans - have led to major parking problems, causing tension between tourists and Derbyshire County Council is fighting authority hopes a raft of new planned parking restrictions - comprising a mixture of "red routes", double yellow lines and parking bays with time restrictions - will ease the situation and make life easier for its will the new approach work? Much of the ire from locals appears to be focused on Old Mam Tor Road, which runs out of the village up Mam Tor and is known as the "Broken Road", because it was split by a recent years, it has become a magnet for Spence has lived in Castleton for seven years after moving up from told the BBC he had come across toilet paper, human waste and loo chemicals left behind by those embracing the "campervan life"."It's just not decent human behaviour when you are visiting a beautiful, picturesque part of the world," he 54-year-old said he had spotted some campervanners leaving toilet paper and excrement behind trees."Some of these vans haven't got a chemical toilet, so they've got to go to the toilet somewhere," he Spence said any measure was better than nothing, but he felt concerned there were no restrictions planned for the top end of the Broken Road."A lot of people turned up during Covid and I don't think some of them ever left. They stay up there for longer periods of time," he said."There is still concern about emptying chemical toilets and waste and rubbish that tends to pile up around there." Gary Glennerster runs Dunscar Farm, which looks across Old Mam Tor Road."There is nothing wrong with the people and they are not committing a crime, but it is the sheer volume of them. It's an eyesore," he thinks the council should be charging people to park on the road, because he says their vehicles contribute little to the local Jonnie Collins – from the campaign group Concerned for Castleton – says two volunteers go to the area where campervans are gathered on Broken Road once a week, and usually return with at least two bins bags full of believes the county council will have a major challenge enforcing the planned parking restrictions because staff already have a large area to cover."I accept walking around cities or towns, there is rubbish but other than volunteers, there is nobody to clear it up and what annoys me most is we know the hotspots where there is excrement - but the authorities don't seem to be willing to try and stop it happening," he Peak Borough Council, which is responsible for bins in the area, said it carried out "year-round campaigns to educate people and encourage responsible visits"."We'll continue to work with our partners to support people in Castleton with the impact caused by a very high volume of visitors to the village," a spokesperson added. Figures obtained by the National Caravan Council - from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) - show 16,447 motorhomes were registered in 2024 - almost double the 8,733 recorded in around the world, including the UK, have seen a large increase in recent years of people living and travelling in converted vans, with a spike in the search term #vanlife on social Dorey, an author and environmentalist, has written books about camper vans and presented BBC Two programme One Man and His Campervan - about travelling across Europe in one of the says campervanning became much more popular during the Covid pandemic, because hotels were closed and camper vans are self-contained."I think social media has also got something to do with it," Martin added."But I am not going to blame it. Social media has brought more things to the attention of more people, whether it's vans, whether it is sport or whatever."I don't think we should demonise #vanlife just because it has got a hashtag. It's always been popular." Bob Riley stays on the Broken Road two or three times a year in his fully-fitted Fiat Ducato van, which cost him £85, 64-year-old told the BBC he had never dropped litter, and had not noticed any of the problems people in Castleton were reporting."They have obviously seen something that I haven't," he said."I have seen lots of friends and family having a good time and leaving no trace."It's a good life, if you respect the area, respect the locals and do the right thing."The county council's public consultation on the new parking restrictions is due to conclude on 8 August before the authority decides whether to implement the plans as they are or revise them. Charlotte Hill, cabinet member for potholes, highways and transport, said: "Our road safety team have been working with Castleton Parish Council to try and identify ways to better manage parking in the village."Castleton is a beautiful place to visit, but the roads were never designed for the kinds of traffic volumes - and the size of vehicles - that we see today."For the past few years, there have been concerns about inconsiderate parking, and some motorists not understanding the restrictions that are currently in place."We hope that our proposals will help local people, make things clearer for visitors and reduce disruption to help make sure visitors enjoy the beauty of our county."Alongside our proposals to restrict parking, we will also look to enforce the restrictions robustly with our team of parking attendants, to ensure traffic can move safely and smoothly in the area, reducing congestion and unnecessary delays."It is a tricky balancing act for the council as it tries to keep residents and visitors happy - and the coming months will tell us how successfully it has managed to do full list of parking proposals can be found here.
RNZ News
10-07-2025
- Automotive
- RNZ News
Pensioners camped out at Hamilton carpark for years face uncertain future
People camped out at the Classics Museum in Hamilton. Photo: Google Maps Pensioners camped out in a Waikato carpark are facing an uncertain future after years living on the site, but the carpark owner says most of them cant afford to go anywhere else. The Classics Museum in the Hamilton suburb of Frankton has allowed people living in campervans to park on its land for $50 a week. Hamilton Classics Museum owner Tom Andrews said for the first eight to 10 years he had let people stay there for free, later adding a small charge to try and dissuade masses of people from staying there. Many of them are elderly and on low incomes, with around 20 people staying in the carpark at the moment. "Some of them are pensioners with no money, [and] have had to sell their houses [and] move into busses," Andrews said. Under the Classic Car Museum's resource consent, it is allowed three allocated parking spaces that can be provided for campervans. It also allows for overnight stays only for people visiting the museum, but these are confined to the three allocated areas. Andrews said the council over the years have turned a blind eye to a lot of the overstaying, but a new council employee has come along and "laid down the regulations" to him two weeks ago. The council disputes this, saying they have raised the compliance issue with Andrews a number of times, the first being in 2018. "For a long time, staff have acted with kindness and patience towards resource consent breaches at the site," Hamilton Council planning guidance director Grant Kettle said. However, Kettle said staff had received a complaint that raised a serious fire safety risk at the site due to the number and proximity of the campervans being allowed to stay there. "We have raised with the owner the breach of the resource consent conditions, which were brought to our attention as a result of investigating the fire safety risk," Kettle said. Andrews said there is no fire safety issue as there is around 1.5 acres of land for the campervans to space out, and rather that was a "red herring". "If they want the campervans further apart, all they have to do is ask," Andrews said. Hamilton Council said its staff have provided Andrews with an option which could see campervans stay there under different conditions to the current resource consent. This would require a campground registration for the site, and applying for a new resource consent. "Council has not taken any formal enforcement action as a result of the breach of the resource conditions the site should operate under. No one is being forced out by the council," Kettle said. Kettle said staff had asked Andrews to let council which option they were intending to take within a couple of weeks of the initial meeting on 25 June. "Council has not heard from the owner about what their ongoing intentions are for the site. The owner, not Council, has given the campers until 17 July to end any long-term stays in accordance with the consent conditions. Council is more than willing to work with the owner around the timeframes for when compliance is met," he said. However, Andrews said under the consent process would be costly. "Under that process, they'd make me spend well in excess of $100,000 to make, what they consider, the site compliant with toilet blocks etc., which I am not prepared to do," he said. "We're obviously not getting revenue much from it, and really doing it as a service." Andrews added the people staying at the carpark currently are all self-contained. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
10-07-2025
- RNZ News
Pensioners living in museum carpark face uncertain future
Pensioners camped out in a Waikato carpark are facing an uncertain future after years living on the site, but the carkpark owner says most of them cant afford to go anywhere else. The Classics Museum in the Hamilton suburb of Frankton has allowed people living in campervans to park on its land for $50 a week. Many of them are elderly and on low incomes; some of them have been there for years. But it is a breach of the museum's resource consent that only allows limited short term stays. Now Hamilton City Council has put the landowner on notice. Classics Museum Owner Tom Andrews spoke to Lisa Owen. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
The Independent
23-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Brexit rules lead to surge in demand for campervan parking at beauty spots
A lobby group, the Campaign for Real Aires (Campra), is advocating for a significant increase in overnight parking options for campervans and motorhomes across the UK. The demand for domestic motorcaravan travel has surged due to post-Brexit rules limiting UK passport holders' stays in the Schengen area. A survey revealed that 88 per cent of motorcaravan users are dissatisfied with the current availability of overnight parking in desirable UK locations, despite spending an average of £51 daily in local businesses. Campra argues that providing more designated 'Aires' (stopping places) would generate revenue for local businesses and extend the tourist season, citing successful trials in places like Fleetwood. The call for more facilities comes as some local authorities, such as Hampshire County Council, have approved bans on overnight stays for these vehicles in certain beauty spots.
