Highland council parking rip off!

Jugster

Jugster

Joined
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Evesham, UK
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Hi
just left Portree on the isle of sky, beautiful place.

just a word of warning to motorhomers, we parked in the main car park in Portree yesterday which is huge and has loads of spaces including dedicated Motorhome spaces. However all the Motorhome spaces approx 10 in total were occupied so I along with 6 other vans moved to the far side of the car park well away from everyone and parked over 2 spaces lengthways due to the length of my van and the smaller spaces. Paid for parking and went for a walk and lunch. On return, we had been issued with a parking ticket. I disputed this on line and was told that because all the Motorhome spaces were taken, I should not of parked there, also that I was required to park within the white box, that means all of my Motorhome in a car space.

So the moral of this story is BEWARE, there is no get out and we ended up with a £60 fine reduced to £30 if we paid quickly, which of course we did.

My fault I suppose, but no compassion and no acknowledgment of us all spending our money in the struggling businesses during this time!

Oh, all of the other 6 vans also got parking tickets too!

Welcome to the Highlands everyone!

take care and read the signs, I didn’t and yes it was an expensive lunch in the end.
 
Did you pay for one space or two?
 
Were all the Motorhome spaces being used by motorhomes or a mix of cars also which should then by rights be ticketed for parking in the wrong spot same as you and would have hampered your parking.

Did you purchase two tickets to cover both spaces in which case you do have a reasonable point to query the ticket.
 
I think everyone is desperate for money so we will see more of this type of thing
 
It could be argued that if the fee for one motorhome space is the same as one car parking space then the OP should not have to pay for two car parking spaces.
 
Emmit said:
It could be argued that if the fee for one motorhome space is the same as one car parking space then the OP should not have to pay for two car parking spaces.
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But they charge more for bigger pitches on campsites so I guess it’s the same
 
Emmit said:
It could be argued that if the fee for one motorhome space is the same as one car parking space then the OP should not have to pay for two car parking spaces.
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I think if the MH spaces are the same cost the thread title ought to read Highland council bargain for motorhomes big spaces at no extra cost!. Surely if you had a vehicle parked across 2 spaces you pay for them both. If all the big ones have gone it's your tough luck for being late.
 
Parking is about the worst thing for getting me going, always got to read the signs, then most of the time you don't know if it applys to you or not or if you have to pay for two or whatever, or if you have overstayed your time, in my view all car parks should be pay on exit for however long you have been there, but then that would cut their fines so they won't do that.
Winds me up so much that I would rather walk a mile than be worrying about how we have parked.
And then the fines are rediculas why can't they just sensibly just charge what you should have paid.
I could go on but parking is the bugbear of motorhomeing.edit. for me.

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chaser said:
Parking is about the worst thing for getting me going, always got to read the signs, then most of the time you don't know if it applys to you or not or if you have to pay for two or whatever, or if you have overstayed your time, in my view all car parks should be pay on exit for however long you have been there, but then that would cut their fines so they won't do that.
Winds me up so much that I would rather walk a mile than be worrying about how we have parked.
And then the fines are rediculas why can't they just sensibly just charge what you should have paid.
I could go on but parking is the bugbear of motorhomeing.edit. for me.
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It does depend on the circumstances. But if the fine was only what you should have paid everyone would just park anywhere it would be chaos. I think in this case they should have waived the penalty provided two spaces had been paid for but when you see the way some people park a free for all just wouldn't work
 
The Wino said:
It does depend on the circumstances. But if the fine was only what you should have paid everyone would just park anywhere it would be chaos. I think in this case they should have waived the penalty provided two spaces had been paid for but when you see the way some people park a free for all just wouldn't work
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We once had a hire car in faro, and parked where we had always parked before for free, any way when we came back we had a ticket, on reading it in Portuguese it looked as if it could have been 180 euros, and we had to pay it at a post office.
So fearing the worst we turned up at the po, and handed it in , the fine? 8 euros which was the fee for a whole day, all the other numbers were if you didn't pay within certain times.
Thought what a bloody good and fair idea.
 
If you park across two spaces lengthways... what about the spaces in front and behind you?

If vehicles decides to park in them, you'd be well and truly blocked in... just thinking out loud.
 
LesW said:
If you park across two spaces lengthways... what about the spaces in front and behind you?

If vehicles decides to park in them, you'd be well and truly blocked in... just thinking out loud.
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I'm with Les on this one. If people park lengthways in a carpark then it just draws adverse attention to the MoHo fraternity.
 
orridge said:
Were all the Motorhome spaces being used by motorhomes or a mix of cars also which should then by rights be ticketed for parking in the wrong spot same as you and would have hampered your parking.

Did you purchase two tickets to cover both spaces in which case you do have a reasonable point to query the ticket.
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In Edinburgh buying two tickets doesn't work - you might even get a fine for each space.

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Portree is my local village.
This car park set-up is new and I hope it settles down soon!
I'm sorry that you've been caught out. It might be worth sending in an appeal but from what you've described, I wouldn't hold out much hope. Sadly these decisions aren't made in Skye, where things are more pragmatic, but in Inverness. I hope that you enjoy the rest of your stay.

This car park was free until re-vamped, and also overnighting was tolerated there, but sadly no more. During tourist season there were always more than 10 vans there during the day. I wrote to the council (which is based well over 100 miles away in Inverness) pointing out the issues that restricted usage will raise, especially post-covid.
The main positive for us m/hers is the provision of a new black waste dump at this car park. (Is that working yet Jugster ? - I haven't used the car park since they introduced charges!) They have provided, or supported, other parking areas - with dedicated m/h spaces and in some cases black waste dumps - around the island and across the Highlands.
It is important to read and abide by the (sometimes seemingly strange) restrictions which are designed to keep traffic moving and prevent bottlenecks building up by encouraging people to move on if there's no space.
Highland Council is spending a small fortune on assisting with waste dumps, overnight spots and many other tourist-related facilities in an effort to prevent some of the chaos and destruction of last year; they are paying more attention to the remoter areas and finding ways to fund this. Expanding and charging for parking is one way.
 
Many car parks make it very clear that for simple parking of a car if you aren't within the designated lines you will be subject to an excess charge. Don't park on hatched zones, or similar. The point being that if all spaces are full, that's it no room for you.

Be grateful they have designated some spaces for the oversized vehicles of motorhomes, but if they are all taken, that's it they are full. You don't expect to be able to abandon your vehicle on yellow lines, it's the same for a designated parking area.

I'd suspect that any parking area enforcing provision for MH's parked incorrectly would do the same for any car in a dedicated MH place.

In time the operators of a car park may find that some spaces or capacity are relatively underused, whilst others are oversubscribed. Once past the chaos of uncertainty of the pandemic and "normal" use patterns are seen, they may find they can allocate more (or perhaps reduce) the dedicated provision, whilst allowing the normal car parking.
 
In both Torquay and Lowestoft when I parked last year it was clearly stated, that if you overhang another space then buy two tickets, which I did.
 
Hi CWH
You have a beautiful town. We enjoyed our stay, thanks.

I admit that I was in the wrong, but was only trying to give others the heads up on this car park. In view of the thousands of mh’s that are on the roads in sky, I think they could do with some more Motorhome spaces! So many empty car spaces.
Did not notice black dumping, but probably because I was a bit upset at the time! Lol!
 
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Jugster I feel your pain ..... New car park, new rules, new wardens ...
Trust me, there won't be any empty car spaces as soon as the English schools break for their holidays! - at that time of year, locals can't park at all after about 8.30 in the morning - that's why the brand new far end of the car park you were in is restricted to permit holders (those working in the village now have to pay as well).
(By the way I'm not sure there are 'thousands' of mohos on the island, though sometimes it seems like it! - and a lot are already travelling in unpassable convoys which always makes it seem as though there are more.)
I guess nobody knows what this year will look like in terms of tourism, or whether it'll continue ... I know there are moves to set up a step-on-step-off bus route around the island which would be great and would serve not only the main villages and the 'hot-spots' but also the campsites.

Anyhow enjoy your break and I hope the weather holds for you!

(P.S. If you think you were in the wrong as you say, maybe you could edit your thread title and remove "rip-off"?)

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People are like sheep, the first sheep sees the motorhome spaces are full, so decides he‘ll park in the car spaces, the second sheep sees this and follows, two sheep there now so the others think it must be ok , parking attendant turns up and all the sheep get fleeced,🤣🤣🤣🤣
 
I thought it was ok as long as you bought two tickets if your parked in two parking spots.
 
Mikey RV said:
I thought it was ok as long as you bought two tickets if your parked in two parking spots.
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No many councils specifically exclude the buying of 2 tickets*. I use one in Barnstaple ,Bear street, which has 3 " oversized " bays which you are expected to use in a car park that holds hundreds & the spaces are in an area that is rarely used.


* This also means you can't use the car park if towing a trailer.
 
gus-lopez said:
No many councils specifically exclude the buying of 2 tickets*. I use one in Barnstaple ,Bear street, which has 3 " oversized " bays which you are expected to use in a car park that holds hundreds & the spaces are in an area that is rarely used.


* This also means you can't use the car park if towing a trailer.
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To be fair how many people go shopping towing a trailer ?
 
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I think it's excellent that Portree are making provision for Motorhomes and we used the car park this morning. No issues for us as there were MH spaces available. If there hadn't been I'd have gone elsewhere or read the terms and conditions to find out what other options there might be.

We haven't found Skye busy with motorhomes at all though. Perhaps that will begin to change next week, but we'll be back on the mainland by then!

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Ivory55 said:
To be fair how many people go shopping towing a trailer ?
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I used to pick up and drop off wife and daughters at Alicante airport towing trailers. Can't get in the multi storey with them now. If I'm out with a trailer and need shopping why would I want to do a double trip?
 
NorthernSoul said:
We haven't found Skye busy with motorhomes at all though. Perhaps that will begin to change next week, but we'll be back on the mainland by then!
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I think a lot of people are being a bit cautious and staying where they can quickly dash home if necessary.
 
Mickey1 said:
People are like sheep, the first sheep sees the motorhome spaces are full, so decides he‘ll park in the car spaces, the second sheep sees this and follows, two sheep there now so the others think it must be ok , parking attendant turns up and all the sheep get fleeced,🤣🤣🤣🤣
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'I need three volunteers; ewe, ewe and ewe ...' :LOL:

Steve
 
gus-lopez said:
I used to pick up and drop off wife and daughters at Alicante airport towing trailers. Can't get in the multi storey with them now. If I'm out with a trailer and need shopping why would I want to do a double trip?
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I suppose you have to go to a bit where you can drive through and have 2 spaces and pay for 2 spaces

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