Height Barriers Installed on East Coast (1 Viewer)

[Alan]

After a summer of problems with travellers and long stay motorhomers in carparks height barriers have now been installed at most carparks around the skegness area
Alan.
Motor home owners angered by the council's introduction of height barriers on its coastal carparks.
by Andrew Hirst
andrew.hirst@jpress.co.uk
Published on the
25 September
2013
10:00
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Angry motorhome owners claim they have been discriminated against through the introduction of height barriers on council-run coastal carparks.

A number of regular visitors to the east coast have complained they can no longer park up to enjoy the views around Huttoft and Anderby due to Lincolnshire County Council’s recent crackdown on unauthorised campers.

While many agree there has been a problem with disreputable visitors staying on site, they feel that ‘legitimate’ motor home owners, such as themselves, have been unfairly tarred with the same brush.

“We totally agree that having vagrants living on the terrace is not on and we can’t believe that it’s been allowed to go on for so long,” said Spalding resident Paul Marriott who regularly visits the coast with his partner Karen Dawson.

“But we feel that this is an over-reaction and we have been discriminated against.

“We’re only asking for the barriers to be open during the daytime so we can enjoy these wonderful views.”

Paul and a number of other aggrieved visitors held a ‘peaceful protest’ at Huttoft Car Terrace recently to highlight their concerns, which they fear could also impact upon disabled people and nursing homes visiting in minibuses.

Retired couple Pauline Sands and Thomas Leach claim the council’s criticism of motorhome owners led to people persecuting them as though they were travellers.

“People are actually tormenting us because they think we’re travellers because of all this,” said Pauline.

“I’ve worked 45 years of my life, paid my dues and now we’re just trying to get out a little bit in our retirement.”

Lincolnshire County Council installed the barriers at Huttoft Car Terrace, Marsh Yard, Anderby Creek, Chapel Six Marshes and Wolla Bank, in response to complaints that people had been staying on site for weeks and months at a time.

Executive member for the environment Coun Colin Davie has defended the decision as a necessary means to end the illegal practice, which he says has resulted in nearby residents being ‘intimidated’ by unwanted visitors.

“The bottom line is that we have had to secure the sites because of motorhome owners abusing the situation,” he said.

“When we feel that we can deal with them responsibly then we can look at opening access again.

“My responsibility is to look after the interests of the many, not the few and there are a good many law abiding visitors who want to come to our coastline and should be able to park up without a small number of motorhomes making their stay unpleasant.

“They want to get something for nothing rather than pay to use an authorised camp site.

“We’ve even had instances of mindless criminal damage where people have broken the barriers and flung them into the sea - at the end of the day that’s taxpayers who will have to foot the bill.”

 

[buttons]

It is happening everywhere and it is seldom travellers who are the culprits, it's the free loading leisure motorhomers who treat car parks like their own. Car parks are for parking in not sleeping in and it would appear that hight barriers are the only defence against them. Dont hold your breath for getting them removed it is unlikely to be reversed.

 

[freelanderuk]

Its been on the cards for a couple of years , there was actually one bloke who was running a car repairs Service on huttoft car terrace from his motor home, he used the carpark as his permanent base

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[GJH]

I watched a programme on BBC 4 on Sunday, The Golden Age of Canals, which was about the campaign to save and restore the UK canal network that was threatened with extinction. The way in which the campaigners succeeded was to go to the authorities concerned not to get them to spend money but to make arrangements to do the work themselves - it was the campaigners who dug out the silt, shifted the rubbish and repaired the walls &c.

There may well be a case for motorhome stopovers on the Lincolnshire coast (though I can't think of any justification for anybody running a car repair business) but if there is then why did those who identified it not approach Lincolnshire County Council and offer to work with them to create something, rather than just turning up and camping because they wanted to?

 

[Alan]

Barrier Update

Some people seem to have took offence at the new Height barriers on the coast and have took matters in to there own hands took from Skegness standard Facebook page
Alan

Police news.
by Andrew Hirst
andrew.hirst@jpress.co.uk
Published on the
25 September
2013
18:04
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Vandals have this afternoon attacked the newly installed height barriers at a coastal carpark, angering local councillors and legitimate visitors alike.

Lincolnshire County Council’s executive member for the environment Coun Colin Davie said the barriers at Marsh Yard carpark had been flung into the ocean for the second time in recent history at a considerable cost to the taxpayer.

He has accused the perpetrators of such ‘disgraceful behaviour’ of spoiling the facility for law abiding users and condemned the action in the strongest terms.

“It’s appalling and disgraceful that the actions of the few are ruining it for the many,” he said.

“The matter is now in the hands of the police as it is quite clearly criminal damage.”

The council had only recently installed barriers at the site several other of its coastal carparks in a bid to crackdown on the many vans and motorhomes unlawfully camping there overnight, often for weeks on end.

A number of motorhome owners later complained that the barriers were discriminating against their legitimate use of the carparks and tarring them with the same brush as the disreputable visitors.

They had called upon the council to enable access, at least during the day, so that they could continue to enjoy the coastal views around Huttoft and Anderby.

Coun Davie says the irresponsible actions of the vandals behind these latest attacks have now made it more difficult to find a solution.

“How can we look at a sensible policy in the future if these people are going to carry out these actions?” he asked.

“We will take control of these carparks in the interest of the local communities and the law abiding visitors who should be able to enjoy the coast without feeling intimidated.”

Motorhome owner Pauline Sands, who is a regular visitor to the coast with her partner Thomas Leach, has also condemned the vandals.

Though she had criticised the council for installing the barriers, Pauline fears that such antagonistic behaviour will only worsen the situation.

“It’s disgusting,” she said,

“We’re not criminals and we don’t want to be associated with these people.”

 

[grasscutter]

So that's another place that we have not visited and are now unlikely to do so.:Sad:

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[GJH]

Vandals have this afternoon attacked the newly installed height barriers at a coastal carpark, angering local councillors and legitimate visitors alike.

Pity they didn't also install CCTV because whoever did it (motorhomers or not) has done no favours to anyone.

 

[sedge]

Well they could install a paymeter and rising bollards, if it works on aires it must work on carparks ....... and yes, we would have to accept that it's the actions of some of our number, whoever they may be, that have caused us to have to fork out.

They wouldn't have to discriminate at all, because all vehicles would have to pay.