September 8, 2021 4.42 pm This story is over 30 months old

No more free Lincolnshire east coast car parking

Motorhomes overnight camping scrapped too
Anderby Creek. Photo: | Andrew Tryner/Lincolnshire County Council
By Local Democracy Reporter

Vehicles will not be able to park overnight and will have to pay for parking at council owned car parks on Lincolnshire’s east coast after new rules were brought in.

Lincolnshire County Council’s planning and regulation committee supported the new proposals to not only stop vehicles parking in the coastal car parks overnight, but also to implement car park charges at popular areas from next year.

The areas affected will be tourist spots such as Anderby Creek, Moggs Eye, Huttoft, Marsh Yard, Six Marshes and Wolla Bank, along the east coast of Lincolnshire.

From Easter 2022, running from Good Friday to October 31 each year, charges will apply at LCC’s east coast car parks between 10am and 5pm, costing £1 for up to an hour, £2 for up to two hours and £4 for over two hours.

This will need to be paid by phone in peak hours, with the car park open between 6am and 10pm each day, and overnight parking will be banned from November 1, 2021. Disabled badge holders will be exempt from any parking charges.

The overnight closure will prevent large vehicles such as motorhomes using the car parks for “unauthorised overnight stays”, and includes a 24-hour ban for vehicles over 6m in length.

Fines will be issued to anyone seen breaking these rules, and until November 1 the existing laws prohibiting overnight camping in these areas will remain in force.

Cllr Colin Davie has explained the decision behind the new regulations, and blamed “obstructive parking.”

He said: “As these sites have become more popular, increasingly they are frequented by motorhome users. The oversized nature of these vehicles has led to more incidences of obstructive parking, and greatly reduces the space available for other visitors to the beach.

“Also, with no facilities for these vehicles at the car parks, we often see grey water and waste left on site after unauthorised overnight stays.”

The council will also be introducing waiting restrictions to prevent drivers from parking dangerously on nearby roads and ensuring that visibility is maintained at junctions.

Cllr Davie added: “We’re working with residents to find the right solutions for the areas. The parking charges have been introduced to enable the authority to properly manage the car parking at the sites and in particular during the busy summer months.

“Also, to ensure drivers don’t park dangerously on nearby roads, we’ve introduced waiting restrictions to maintain clear visibility at junctions, keep access roads clear and protect private accesses.”

Chair of Anderby Parish Council, Graham Fisher, has called the new ruling a “win-win” for the area and said it can’t come soon enough.

“The Council has already helped by putting double yellow lines in the village, and now a managed car park will make such a difference.  We’ve been asking for this for a while, so I’m really pleased to see that the county council are bringing in these better regulations which we know will benefit both visitors and residents alike.”