‘Ain’t no easy answer’ – Councillors debate effects of campervans on Scarborough and Whitby seaside

At a full meeting of Scarborough Council, councillors called on the authority to take action concerning complaints about the activity of certain campervan holidaymakers, especially with regard to parking and waste disposal.

However, members of the cabinet also defended the benefits of campervans and said that the “campervan fraternity” was welcome in Scarborough “as long as they behave themselves”.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Glenn Goodberry, said: “Whitby, like Scarborough, has been inundated with hundreds of campervans over the summer period.

"One day, there were 46 campervans in a row down there.

“There is signage saying ‘no parking’ on the sea wall, but it is absolutely nose to tail with campervans.

"The locals are going crackers and if you needed to get an emergency vehicle down there you would struggle.”

Cllr Tony Randerson, the cabinet member for neighbourhoods, replied, stating: “It is a problem borough-wide, not just in localised areas.

“Myself and Cllr Roberta Swiers have had no end of problems up on Filey Road with campervans.

“The campervan fraternity gets quite upset when we try to rectify anything associated with that.”

Scarborough Council has also received regular complaints about campervans through its social media channels this summer.

Cllr Randerson added that some campervan owners had also been spotted “pouring the contents of their toilet waste down the drains”.

He added: “It has been seen to be done, and that is why they banned campervans from parking overnight there.”

“On the Marine Drive, if they pay their dues, they are entitled to stop for as long as they have paid for.

"For the life of me, and I’ll keep saying this, when you pay £30,000 or £40,000 for a campervan but they can’t afford to pay a £10, £15, £20 fee to park in a properly recognised park is beyond me.

“I have had various chats with North Yorkshire County Council about this and there ain’t no easy answer, unfortunately.”

However, Cllr Bill Chatt said it was “great to see that there is now somewhere that people can empty cassettes from these campervans.”

He added: “I would rather support it being disposed of in the correct way, than in the way you said it was being disposed of. So I’m going to stand up and congratulate you because it is about time we helped to deal with the issue rather than just moaning about it.”

Cllr Randerson replied that “the campervan fraternity is welcome here, as long as they behave themselves.

Meanwhile, a campervan owner himself, Cllr Guy Coulson, said that in his experience Scarborough Council was “missing a big trick”.

He suggested that the council should look at creating more overnight parking facilities which could also be a source of income for the authority.

Cabinet member, Cllr Carl Maw added: “We can’t help people’s free will, can we? It’s not our fault that we live in the best place on Earth, to be quite honest. And people want to come to Filey, Whitby, and Scarborough.”

Cllr Heather Phillips also called for stricter enforcement of council policies around campsites where people make fires and leave rubbish on the beach.