The tourists who are being told to ‘move on’

Sarah Saunderson • Published 3 Sep 2010 09:00 Comments 1 Comment

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We must do all we can for our visitors

The ban on overnight parking for motorhomes at the Lakeland Forum and other lakeside parking areas in the county is driving motorhome users and their spending money away from the county for good, a County Down tourist believes.

Henry and Isobel Cunningham from Kilkeel feel they are being pushed out of the county with the ban on overnight parking at the Forum in Enniskillen and at Bellanaleck and Rossigh. A number of their friends have already vowed not to return. The Cunninghams have received notices on their windscreen on Fermanagh District Council paper saying “Move on” and have received a visit from a PSNI officer at night advising them they should not be parked at the Forum.

Having stayed for months in summer in Fermanagh, the family spends a considerable amount in local shops, using hotels for evening meals and even using hairdressers and beauticians.

The Cunninghams have a cruiser and their motorhome is their only means of transport when they come to Fermanagh. “An awful lot of our friends have left. Enniskillen must not have any recession. So many of our friends have left and gone to other places. A lot of other places do cater for people like us. We see such a shift in what is going on. It is contrary to what the traders would be like,” said Mrs Cunningham.

“We would go to Rossigh and Bellanaleck and we move around. We have a boat and it is registered. We pay our way. Sometimes you get Council vans driving around and looking at you and when you put your hand up they just stare at you. Sometimes they knock on the door and ask if we intend staying long. I explain that we have just come off the river and need a parking space and we are told that there is not much parking here [at the Forum]”.

“Last year when we were away for a few days, two different people told us that people were looking for us and there were two letters stuck to the windscreen. One said ‘Keep moving’ and the other said ‘Move on’ on Council paper.

“Quite a few of our friends have completely left,” she said.

“Two Sunday nights ago at 10.30pm a constable called. I explained and he said he fully understood but he was advising us that we shouldn’t be here.”

The welcome they receive in other towns is quite different, she said. “In Carrickfergus, at the harbour, if private vehicles park in designated camping spaces, they get clamped. Electricity is provided. We can buy a token at local shops. Broughshane also has electricity. The spaces are completely free,” she explained.

“My granddaughter is ten and only for her we would have left as all our friends have gone. It has divided us up. We have nearly got more friends in Fermanagh than we have here as during the summer we have more time and do more socialising.

“We feel so sad we should be pushed out. Can the economy afford this? It is the only island town and it is a beautiful place. We contribute to everything,” said Mrs. Cunningham. The family uses local shops, businesses and restaurants during their long summer stay, from Easter until October.

Mrs. Gwyneth McCullough has all but stopped coming to Fermanagh. Also from Kilkeel, her family now prefers to travel to Scotland or to her native Wales. “We would have gone up pretty regularly to Fermanagh and I think it is a disgrace. They are trying to get tourists into Northern Ireland. They are stopping camper vans from parking. They do not cater for camper vans. There are no aires de service. We go to Broughshane and Carrickfergus and there are aires and electricity points.

“We have been going to Fermanagh for about seven or eight years, even since we got a motorhome. We have been once this summer, but not overnight,” she said.

Using an example of a fellow motorhome user, she pointed out their spending power is not inconsiderable. “We were talking to two southern motorhomers in Bellanaleck and he had not seen the sign ‘No overnight parking’ which is on the side of the toilets. He was saying he was in Enniskillen and had spent £250 shopping on the Saturday and was going back on the Sunday. He said if they had put him out of it, he wouldn’t be back again. Campervanners do help with the economy. When they park up, they go shopping. People come from all over the place, from Germany and Holland. The signs that are up are off-putting. We do not like to break the law or do anything that causes offence. We only take up one car parking space and never leave any rubbish. We never do any harm. We can’t see the logic of it. They are going to be the losers in the long run.

“There are a lot of people who are annoyed and won’t go there now. And that’s it. End of,” she said.

Mr. Gerry Knox, Director of Technical Services for Fermanagh District Council said that there was a tender published in the local press recently for the provision of two units at Carrybridge and Rossigh that would provide aire de service facilities. “The units would be to service which have electricity and facilities for waste water and clean water. They would be token operated. That would allow those people to stop overnight but only those hooked up to to the unit. Anybody additional would have to move on. Those two sites at Carrybridge and Rossigh are deemed to be the most suitable. We do not have somewhere suitable in Enniskillen. Parking is at a premium in Enniskillen and it is very, very difficult to find somewhere with sufficient space for large camper vans,” he said. The Rossigh and Carrybridge aires will have two to four spaces, depending on requirements.

Explaining the ban on overnight parking at the Forum and other places, he said: “These are Council-provided facilities, and do not allow camping. It is against the law. Those are not permitted for use for overnight parking. There are signs on each of the sites to indicate that,” he said. A Council search showed that there is space at other sites in the vicinity, he said.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 02 Sep 10

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gadfly
2 posts
Sep 3, 09:20
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There are plenty of good caravan/camping sites in the county, let them use those the same as we caravanners do. I'm fed up with the free loading motor home brigade taking over car parks in the province, if we did it in a caravan there would be an outcry!

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