Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh Highland councillors vote to introduce Invitation to Pay (ITP) at popular car parks across the region – in Ullapool, Gairloch, Kyle of Lochalsh and Plockton and at Gruinard Beach and Dornie Hall
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The ITP scheme was mooted by the council’s tourism committee as a way of raising funds to provide better services for visitors to the Highlands.
Each area committee in Highland is being asked to agree voluntary car parking charges at tourism hotspots.
Caithness has also passed proposals for its area, and charging is already in place in areas of Nairn and Inverness.
Under the plan, car parks under Highland Council control will be fitted with smart parking meters and signs informing motorists that their voluntary donations will be invested back into the local community.
The charges are £1 for up to two hours, £2 for up to four hours, £3 for up to 12 hours and £5 for up to 24 hours. The council also intends to relax its rules around overnight parking to allow motorhomes and campervans to park overnight in designated bays, for a fee of £10.
Shane Manning, chief transport officer for Highland Council, presented the proposals to local members.
He underlined that there would be no enforcement, having picked up on anxieties in other Highland communities that this was "car parking charges by the back door."
“If people choose not to pay they will not be penalised for that,” he said, while adding that compliance in other areas was between 60 per cent and 80 per cent.
Mr Manning said the council wants to take a positive approach to visitor management, basing its strategy on the "good" visitors.
The areas initially tabled for charging were Latheron Lane in Ullapool, Gruinard Beach, Gairloch Harbour, the upper village in Kyle of Lochalsh, and Plockton village.
Under the plan, motorhomes will be permitted to stay overnight at Latheron Lane and Gruinard Beach. In consultation with the Plockton community, an area of land at the airfield has also been identified for motorhome parking.
Discussing the proposals, Councillor Biz Campbell highlighted that Plockton Community Council would like to see the car park extended, and Mr Manning confirmed he is supporting the community in a bid for funding to do so.
Mrs Campbell also asked for Dornie Hall to be included in the ITP scheme, at the request of the hall committee. This was agreed by members as an additional recommendation to the report.
Chairman Ian Cockburn expressed some frustration that the Forestry Commission’s Rogie Falls car park remained “overloaded”.
Cllr Cockburn was informed that the council and the Forestry Commission are now working on a deal for the council to run the car park and introduce voluntary charges there too.
Members of the committee welcomed the ITP scheme and passed it unanimously.
