Highland Council has responded to criticism that a new campervan charging scheme will be toothless without enforcement.
Motorhome owners and those renting vehicles will be encouraged to buy a pass entitling them to free overnight stays at council-owned carparks and daily access to showers at High Life Highland leisure centres.
Membership costs £40 for seven consecutive days and the proceeds will be used to improve and sustain tourist infrastructure, according to the local authority.
The scheme, which is the first of its kind in the UK, is completely voluntary and and aims to ensure that Highland "continues to be a destination of choice by domestic and international visitors; tourism in the region is sustainable; and journeys throughout the Highlands are enhanced."
The council said it believed a voluntary scheme was more likely to achieve a high level of support.
The pass will not entitle visitors to avoid daytime parking charges but Highland Council said it will evolve over time to include more benefits.
It is separate from the visitor levy national scheme which is likely to be implemented at the very earliest during 2026 and applies to visitors staying in fixed overnight accommodation including hotels and B&Bs.
Visitors will be encouraged to visit nearby businesses for wastewater disposal and spend money in local retailers.
Those who pay the fee will also be contributing to the Highland Restoration Fund which is designed to help support projects that will deliver nature restoration, safeguard wildlife, and tackle the causes of biodiversity loss due to climate change.
However, the scheme has drawn criticism over the voluntary arrangement, given problems with irresponsible tourism including litter and waste dumping on the popular NC500 route.
Debbie Carmichael, who lives in Fort William, said: "Come on Highland Council, why voluntary?
"Surely we can come up with something better than an honesty box scenario for motor home visitors."
Betty McPhee said: "We live in the Highlands and on the well-used NC500 used by so many m/home and campers in general.
"Why should you pay to use substandard roads and infrastructure and as far as I'm led to believe our beautiful countryside and nature is free to enjoy.
"Why should the majority of sensible people be penalised for the actions of the few morons who do not appreciate these things."
READ MORE:
- Highland residents at 'wits end' as more than half of cars ignore speed limit
- Call for Skye firm boss to be 'named and shamed' over compensation failure
- What is the Highland campervan scheme and why is it voluntary?
The council has 12 designated carparks located around the Highlands and visitors will be encouraged to "slow down their journey and visit some of the less well-known sites around the route".
Others who responded to Highland Council's announcement on social media were more supportive of the voluntary scheme, including Isobel Macleod, who said: "£40 for 7 nights is a real bargain.
"I have difficulty in understanding those who have an expectation of more than is being offered - ie overnight parking and showering facilities at local leisure centres.
"I do, however, think that the scheme should be limited to self-contained vehicles."
Highland Council has committed to an investment fund of £2.25million to improve existing infrastructure and to provide more car parking facilities.
A spokeswoman for Highland Council said: " The Highland Campervan and Motorhome scheme is voluntary to provide choice and empower those touring and visiting the Highlands to enjoy the benefits that the scheme provides.
"We believe a voluntary scheme is likely to achieve a high level of support as income from the scheme will contribute to sustaining and improving the infrastructure which is essential for all road users and for the provision of overnight facilities."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel