Campervan parking ban set to be made permanent

A trial ban on motorhomes and campervans parking overnight at tourist hotspots on the Yorkshire coast is set to be made permanent.

The restrictions were brought in by North Yorkshire Council in November 2024 after complaints about the numbers of motor caravans parked up, along with concerns over safety.

The ban applies to North Bay in Scarborough and the A174 to the south of Sandsend village, between 11:00 and 19:00. A similar trial in Cayton Bay was abandoned after signs were vandalised.

Plans to make the ban permanent are to be discussed by councillors on 27 March but the council said it believed "the aims of the trial have been reached".

North Yorkshire Council said that during the 18-month trial they had received more than 3,000 responses, with two-thirds of them being from motorhome owners.

It said while the majority objected to the restrictions, most did not relate to the reasons they were introduced, and of those respondents who said they lived in the area 60% support or strongly support the proposals.

The council said the results had also identified residential locations in Scarborough where motorhomes were parking as a result of the ban and councillors would consider introducing similar measures at some locations, based on data and discussions with local members.

Malcolm Taylor, executive member for highways and transport, said: "The tourist economy in Scarborough and Whitby is vital to prosperity in the area, but we must try and strike the right balance between all road users."

He said the trial ban on overnight parking was introduced after an increase in the number of people going on holiday in motor caravans, spending long periods of time in the same place and often taking up several parking spaces.

"Along with the police, we receive complaints about anti-social behaviour including reports of campfires and barbeques, leaving litter and defecating on the grass," he added.

"Although most responses opposed the restrictions, we believe the aims of the trial have been reached and there is enough alternative provision."

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