More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A campaign to ban motorhomes from parking along a seafront road has been won.
Signs prohibiting the vehicles pitching up from 6pm to 6am have been installed this week along The Beach, in Walmer after residents and councillors lobbied Kent County Council's highways department.
The campaign started with former parish councillor Dr Alan (Pip) Bailey starting a residents group Walmer Watchers.
He and fellow homeowners collected a dossier of evidence showing pictures of the camper vans, which they felt caused an ongoing nuisance along the road.
Dr Bailey said: "It has been a long battle with several setbacks but working with other people like district and county councillor Derek Murphy, we managed to carry on.
"Finally after jumping over interminable hurdles we've finally got to the finishing post.
"This is the result of a community effort and last Sunday, watching the bloke put the post up was rewarding."
The residents group claimed over the past five years they have been subjected to antisocial behaviour, noisy generators, rubbish dumping and foul water being discharged into the drains.
One woman, Chloe Collard, 26, of Conyngham Close, Ramsgate , was even fined £460 for flytipping in January but hundreds of others who left their litter behind have not been caught.
There was even a "frightening" fire, said Dr Bailey, which was pictured with flames raging.
But this victory has left others asking where motorhomists will go.
Motorhome owner Sarah Hope previously said that banning parking there will move people “elsewhere”.
She said: “With councils banning overnight parking in their car parks it means people like myself have to find somewhere else to park.
“My suggestion is to ask councils to consider creating an area of some of their car parks for the specific use of motorhomes to park overnight. French call the Aires de Camping car. This would give a safe area for motorhomers to park.
“The majority of us are respectful to local residents. There are a number of us that will collect litter, and most of us eat, drink and shop locally to help communities.”
One option being considered for the past year is the Borrow Pit car park, the gravel area off The Beach which was undergoing a feasbility study by Dover District Council's Dover Joint Transportation Board.
DDC has been asked to comment on the progress of that possibility.
