Campervan and motorhome owners are in a local authority’s sights once more after councillors agreed a motion which could limit where they can park overnight. 

Redcar and Cleveland Mayor, Councillor Stuart Smith told a council meeting that “at the last count” he had counted 45 such vehicles on Marine Parade, in Saltburn.

Meanwhile, Saltburn ward Councillor Philip Thomson, whose motion it was that was agreed, said many residents had expressed concern about the volume of motorhomes being parked overnight in residential areas and along Marine Parade and Glenside in the town.

Cllr Thomson requested that Redcar and Cleveland Council consider creating no overnight parking restrictions in nominated and agreed areas of the borough and said there should be a full public consultation to assess the views of all interested parties.

The motion said: “The concentration of motorhomes has radically altered the ambience of areas of the borough and has impacted on the use of the highway, in some cases detracting from an area’s amenities and resulting in many instances of abuse of the local environment.”

It said the council should proceed to introduce appropriate prohibition in relevant locations at the earliest opportunity, but by April 2024 at the latest.

Last year council chiefs did a U-turn over plans for traffic regulation orders intended to restrict campervan and motorhome parking north and south of Cowbar Lane, a single lane track off the A174, close to Staithes, after a raft of objections.

Instead the council began consulting on a public spaces protection order in a bid to clampdown on anti-social behaviour and nuisance with some Cowbar villagers complaining of litter and the dumping of chemical toilets, along with grassland and verges being destroyed by “bumper to bumper” vehicles.

The order is currently being introduced and will include offences around fires, urination and defecation, as well as disposal of so-called grey waste.

Cllr Thomson acknowledged to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that there wasn’t adequate provision for campervan and motorhome users in the area.

A council car parking strategy previously suggested making the Majuba Road car park in Coatham, Redcar campervan ‘friendly’ with toilet facilities for those wanting to stay overnight.

But 18 months later the plans remain on hold with a portion of the car park due to be taken up as part of plans to revamp the seafront at Coatham.

Cllr Thomson previously said a now all but completed expansion of the Cat Nab car park in Saltburn did not include enough overnight spaces for campervans – four extra ones  having been created when he stated the average weekend uptake during the summer was 30, although this was being revisited by the council with the potential for a traffic regulation order which would allow people to park overnight outside a specific parking space.

He said: “I was very pleased that the motion got unanimous support from fellow members.

“In the motion I did make the point that we should be welcoming to all visitors and where motorhome owners arrive appropriate facilities should be in place.

“On the one hand we are keen to attract visitors, but we aren’t providing the necessary infrastructure within a timescale that members might welcome.

“It isn’t about just saying you can’t park here. We need a disincentive through legislation and an incentive through adequate and appropriate provision, of which there is not.

“In Saltburn some residential areas have become in effect a caravan park with all the downsides associated with that and that is what we wish to address.”

Cllr Thomson said in North Yorkshire the Department of Transport had supplied appropriate traffic signs to facilitate the prohibition of waiting of motorhomes during specific hours.

Cllr Smith said: “The parking at times is just a disgrace, they park on the pavement, sometimes blocking it.

“Recently I took a party around Saltburn, explaining the historic features of it.

“Before we got to Marine Parade, I apologised to them for what they were going to see and lo and behold there were people who had a fire pit on the pavement and they were all sitting around it.

“Where are they also depositing their rubbish? The answer is anywhere they can find.

“It’s sad that this motion has to be brought to the council and over the years various officers have promised this issue will be dealt with.”

Councillor Julie Craig, a former cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “We need to be really careful as a borough that if we are discouraging overnight parking in specific areas we don’t discourage people from coming to see what we have on offer.

“Free parking is a factor and perhaps this is something we need to take up.

“The other question is how on earth are we going to be able to enforce all of this.

“The way forward is not necessarily to stop overnight parking, we need to address the other issues such as pay to park and offering better facilities.”

Cllr Alec Brown, the Labour group leader, said: “This is another groundhog issue that we have.

“It is a shame that a borough which relies on tourism doesn’t have better provision for campervans and motorhomes.

“Broadly speaking we do support this motion, but with the caveat that we don’t appear to the wider world that we are closed off to visitors.”

Liberal Democrat group leader and cabinet member for finance, Councillor Glyn Nightingale claimed Cllr Thomson’s motion was vague and needed to be more precise.

He said: “I am sympathetic in terms of the overall objective, but let’s have motions that tell officers what we want them to do.”