Call to sign up special constables to patrol NC500 hotspots
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A plea to recruit special constables around the North Coast 500 route has been made by a north-west Highland councillor.
Hugh Morrison, vice chair of both the Sutherland county committee and the communities and place committee, said the volunteer officers working in conjunction with council rangers could help solve many of this year's problems around the road trip.
Large parts of the 516-mile route have little permanent police presence – in fact the officer based at Rhiconich serves such a huge swathe of Sutherland it is one of longest beats in Europe.
Mr Morrison, who also runs the Smoo Cave Hotel in Durness, said the team of rangers hired by Highland Council this season had done "a good job".
"But if special constables were recruited along the NC500 – especially in the key pinch points – they could work hand-in-hand with the rangers and we would have a system of both council and police powers operating together," he said.
"It has been busier this year, especially with campervans and motorhomes, and while there have not been the same level of problems as last year there have been at certain hotspots, especially with human waste.
"We need to get more toilets reopened, such as those at Bonar Bridge and Lairg which were shut because the drainage system couldn't cope, and Talmine, which has been closed for three years.
"The waste collection service has improved from Assynt to Durness but it can't keep up with the litter. Bins become overflowing.
"We do not have the festival going type of tourist we had last year – they have gone abroad this year – and that has reduced some of the issues. But we need to have a proper assessment of how things have worked this year.
"However, there is no magic wand. We are learning by experience."
Mr Morrison, who represents North, West and Central Sutherland, added: "The ranger system was brought in to advise people, not antagonise them. Many tourists just need to be educated better to the challenges of the route and their impact on communities.
"The police have limited resources and make sporadic days out. That is why special constables would help in certain locations. We are all trying to reduce the impact on communities and make sure they enjoy the benefits of the NC500."
Last month nearly half the vehicles stopped by police in a weekend operation on the NC500 were breaking the law.
In the last crackdown officers checked 72 vehicles and found 32 were committing offences.
The route is estimated to be worth more than £22 million a year to the local economy.
