Landowners and businesses in western Scottish Highlands encouraged to establish aires

Landowners, businesses and communities are being encouraged by Argyll and Bute Council to sign up to a new scheme that will enable them to make some extra income whilst helping to provide safe overnight parking for motorcaravans.

Overnight parking areas for self-contained campervans and motorhomes, or Aires as they are also known, are set up on private land, such as a field or private car park, and provide a safe place for to stop for the night.

These overnight parking areas are popular throughout Europe and are considered a convenient en-route stopover rather than a holiday destination or for a longer stay.

Overnight parking can be relatively low-cost to set up and can be available all year round, or for shorter seasonal periods.

Because motorcaravans are self-contained, there is no requirement to provide onsite facilities such as toilets, showers or electric hook-ups.

Councillor Robin Currie, the Council’s policy lead for the economy and rural growth, said: “More than 16,000 new motorcaravans were registered in the UK between July 2020 and June 2021 but, although there are more vehicles on the road, the services to accommodate safe overnight parking have not developed at the same pace.

“This is something we witnessed this first hand over the summer months, with many motorcaravans owners resorting to parking in unsuitable places.

“Motorcaravan overnight parking can help reduce this by giving these motorists the opportunity to stop in a safe place and get their head down for the night, before moving on.

“It is relatively easy to register your land as a motorcaravan overnight parking area, and it is simple to run as the site can be unmanned and payment can be either by an honesty box, or via a simple payment system.”

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