Stone calls for roadside congestion charge
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Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, Jamie Stone, has launched a campaign to introduce a roadside camping congestion charge in the far north.
Mr Stone is asking constituents to join him in petitioning the Scottish Government for a roadside camping congestion charge to be put in place in the Highlands.
This comes after the NC500 The Land Weeps Facebook page gained 3000 members in under two weeks and after hundreds of constituents contacted Mr Stone about the issues facing communities along the NC500.
When launching the petition, Mr Stone said: “I fully support our tourism industry - and I want tourists to enjoy the beauty of the far north - but whilst most visitors treat our beautiful environment with the love and respect that we locals do, unfortunately, some do not.
"The NC500 has been a brilliant boost to the far north, benefiting local hotels and businesses. However, for it to reach its full potential we need to see increased investment into the roads. Having a few hundred bicycles is not doing the damage – instead, it’s the very heavy campervans and motorhomes that crush our narrow single track roads, which Highland Council has to pick up the bill for.
"We want to welcome people to the Highlands with open arms, so long as they respect what we have to offer. We are at the stage now where the benefits of roadside tourism are being outweighed by the cost to our roads, public services, and the overall wellbeing of our communities.
"That's why I am organising a petition, which I hope locals will join me in signing, to the Scottish Government that asks them to introduce a roadside camping congestion charge in the Highlands. Ideally, the profit would be ringfenced for investment in our roads and roadside facilities.
"It is simply unfair that us locals continue to bear the economic, environmental, and societal cost inflicted by an influx of roadside campers that our roads simply cannot accommodate."
