IT is an area that has been plagued by dirty camping, indiscriminate littering, wild toileting and other abuses.
But Highland Council is now planning a continental-style camping area, or “aire”, just north of Inverness, and has called on landowners across the region to look at creating the same facilities on their own ground.
Aires are places to park and stay overnight in a motorhome, caravan or campervan, either for free or at a low cost, and are popular and widespread in France.
Tourism committee chairwoman Maxine Smith has instructed a council campaign to invite interest from landowners who might have land available for aires.
The council has chosen the northbound car park and toilet area off the A9 at North Kessock to start an initiative it hopes will take off across the region.
The idea is to add facilities for motorhomes, camper vans and caravans to what is already a pit stop at the gateway to the north Highlands.
The discussion comes after what is believed to have been one of the busiest staycation seasons due to Covid-19.
She said: “While coronavirus and the increased demand for staycations in the UK have played a large part in the massive increase in demands placed on the Highlands of Scotland from across the UK, the evidence does show that motorhome ownership and hire has been increasing over recent years.
“These factors and the relatively cheap availability of tents and mass tent ownership all point to the need for joint future management plans to meet tourism needs next season and for future years.
“We will continue to work with partners in Scottish Government, NatureScot, VisitScotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Sepa, Scottish Water, Campa and local groups to ensure we maximise the opportunities for tourism in the Highlands while minimising the risks to our communities.
“The council is also open to hearing from landowners who are interested in providing simple short stay facilities known on the continent as ‘aires’. Primarily, these provide short overnight basic stopping facilities for people on longer journeys that bring economic benefit to local businesses from those overnighting at an aire.
“It may be you are a farmer with a spare field or someone with an extra-large garden, but we need to start thinking more commercially as well as trying to alleviate any issues caused by motorhomes. We welcome tourists in the Highlands, but we need to make sure we have the right infrastructure in place for them.”
Councillor Allan Henderson pointed out that aires only act as an overnight solution for people on the move, whereas another issue is that campers and motorhome owners want to park right beside the area they want as their playground for the next week or fortnight.
He said: “Aires are a good idea to a degree, but it’s not for your actual holiday. It won’t help beach holiday people who covet the spot by the beach and want to park on it for the duration of their holiday.”
There are different style of aires in France, with some situated in motorway service stations which come with a shower bloc, electricity and a place to empty and refill toilets. But these only allow maximum stay of 24 hours and are often busy, with lorries arriving and leaving at all hours.
The most popular type of aires are large gravel-areas within walking distance of a village that have electricity and toilet cleaning facilities but little else and cab be booked for up to four days.
Despite the growing popularity of motorhome travel north of the Border, there are very few overnight parking for motorhomes, outwith commercially operated caravan and campsites, are few in number in the region.
A handful of such sites are in development, with community led projects under way in Lochinver, Helmsdale, Brora, Bonar Bridge and Cromarty.
Highland councillors also agreed to press the Scottish Government on the issue of including legislation for a tourist tax in future programmes.
Tourism committee councillors heard that the Transient Visitor Levy Bill, which was due to be introduced last Easter and was paused due to the pandemic, has not been included in the current programme for government.
The councillors agreed that tourism chairwoman Mrs Smith write to the government for clarity.
The committee also agreed to write to the UK Government to ask for a permanent reduction in VAT to boost the hospitality and tourism sectors for the next few years.
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