Overnight parking charges which ‘restrict freedom” at a Wirral beauty spot, have been slammed by motorhome and campervan owners.
Andy Simpson, 58, is among the motorhome owners who are opposed to the overnight parking charges on Coastal Drive in New Brighton which he described as “sinister”, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Drivers must now pay £20 per night to park overlooking the seafront after Wirral Council implemented the new parking charges in July 2022.
Andy has now joined forces with a group of 16 motorhome owners to appeal against the council’s decision as part of the newly-formed Wirral Campervan Club.
The club want the council to scrap the parking charges and replace them with a dedicated site for campervans and motorhomes with facilities for £10 per night.
Wirral Council said the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) is in place for a period of 18 months, will be kept under regular review and can be amended if necessary.
Andy told the ECHO: “£20 a night is, to me, it’s sinister.
“The fact they put charges in there it’s targeted at motorhomes.
“It’s discriminative against people in campervans and motorhomes.
“We needed some kind of a voice and in order to get a voice and safety in numbers, that’s why we decided we’re going to form a campervan club.
“The place is empty, there’s no one around.
“Local business are feeling the pinch because motorhomes aren’t going there anymore.
“Restaurants, bars – all these are taking a financial hit in times when they need an increase in business.
Related: Lincolnshire coast car parks “missing a trick” on campervan and motorhome overnight parking
“You can increase business all year around by planning in an area with facilities.
“Not only would the council be getting in revenue from that £10 a night per vehicle, you’ll have a constant guarantee of custom coming in and out of the area.
“It would be a designated area, it’s what the council have suggested.
“It’s what other councils up and down the country are doing and there’s not been one negative story since then.”
Wirral Council said plans to develop a “dedicated, serviced site for leisure vehicles in an appropriate off-road location is also still being considered as part of the regeneration masterplan for New Brighton.”
A Wirral Council spokesperson said: “This Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) has been in place for less than six months so is still subject to public consultation.
“Feedback from residents, elected members and other interested parties will be considered as part of a review of the impact on the ETRO in the coming weeks.
“A proposal to develop a dedicated, serviced site for leisure vehicles in an appropriate off-road location is also still being considered as part of the regeneration masterplan for New Brighton.”
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3 comments
I spoke to Andy a couple of weeks ago at New Brighton. The proposals from Wirral Campervan Club (WCC) are extremely valid and I hope that the Council listens.
I along with a lot of friends who are also motorhomers used to be regular users of the Dips and we did/have spent a lot of money in local businesses.
It’s a fantastic location and I for one have missed it.
Andy and I spoke about the immediate issue of a sensible parking charge. Again, I hope the Council listens. The proposal put forward by the WCC make perfect sense.
Would like to join as we go up for the day and have been known to stop overnight.
10/07/2023
Can someone please contact me in regards to this article? Further developments have arisen since this article, whereby injustice has been done to my brother Andy, who was the organiser of the Wirral Campervan Group and initiated this issue.
An issue arose this weekend with a group of campervan/motorhome owners whereby Andy objected to a group protest about going down “mob handed” and blocking the main road of the council building. Andy suggested that that was not the correct way to go about it and that it should be a more softly softly and to follow Government guidelines. The group then got aggressive towards Andy and ignored him for the rest of the weekend which I witnessed. The next day this splinter group went down to the local council very passively and presented a petition (Andy’s suggestion) to them. As a result there is to be a meeting between them and the Council in July. Andy has now been ostracised and is now very upset as he was the one who first highlighted this issue in support of all campervan/motorhome owners.