Decision details

To consider a proposal to introduce an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO), introducing overnight parking restrictions at seafront on-street parking locations at Sandsend, Royal Albert Drive, Scarborough and Cayton Bay.

The making of an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) is approved, as described in section 5.0 of the report and

i) the Corporate Director - Environment be authorised to make minor changes within the first six months of the ETRO;

ii) in line with the procedure for ETROs, before the expiration of 18 months a further report is brought, in order for a decision to be made on whether to make the Order permanent, amend it or remove it;

iii) officers consider marking the long parking bays at Sandsend as individual bays and, if appropriate, change the markings prior to the start of the 2025 summer tourism season, as described in section 7.0 of the report.

iv) officers attend the next Scarborough & Whitby Area Constituency Committee on 3 October 2024 in order to gather the committee’s views on the initial effects of the ETRO and to discuss the other highway locations where similar concerns have already been raised, as well as any new locations which may begin to experience effects following the introduction of the ETRO.

The proposals seek to address the longstanding issues of detriment of amenity arising from the overnight parking of motor caravans at the three locations.

• An ETRO will allow the restriction to be trialled in a "live" situation for up to 18 months, with the consultation period running alongside the trial for the first six months

• The proposals are supported by the local members for each location

• The proposals seek to reduce the risk of fire spreading at night. The proposals are supported by the local Fire Authority and Community Safety

Mark individual parking bays at Sandsend:
There have been calls for individual bay markings to be marked at Sandsend, so that longer vehicles have to buy more than one ticket in the daytime, as is the case at Royal Albert Drive.

It is not commonplace for individual bay markings to be marked for on-street parking bays, the exceptions are Royal Albert Drive/Marine Drive in Scarborough. Marine Drive is not part of the publicly maintained highway and is regulated as an off-street car park, necessitating individual bay markings. It is likely that bays were marked out on Royal Albert Drive (publicly maintained highway) because it is immediately adjacent the marked bays on Marine Drive.

Marking individual bays at Sandsend would generally limit the numbers of vehicles able to park, as generally more vehicles can fit along a length of continuous bay than if the bays were broken up into shorter, individual bays. However, given the strength of feeling around this issue, and the fact that Sandsend attracts a disproportionate number of large vehicles including motor caravans, officers will look into whether this is a viable option.

Charge for overnight parking:
This has been considered as an option, but it is not currently proposed to introduce overnight charging for motor caravans. The concerns and issues with overnight parking would not be alleviated by this proposal and could result in exacerbating the existing adverse impacts on amenity.

There are many campsites available in the local area and the highway authority does not wish to compete with or harm these local businesses.

Given the fire safety issues, overnight provision for motor caravans on the highway could only be made if parking in the three bays either side of a motor caravan were prohibited. It is not possible to regulate or enforce this.

Even if the loss of amenity issues could be overcome, there would need to be a review of parking policy before setting any fee. A comprehensive council-wide review of on-street and off-street parking is planned but the outcome of this review is some time away. Given the ongoing issues being experienced, it is therefore necessary to take action now rather than await the outcome of the county wide review.

Allow some overnight parking of motor caravans on the highway or elsewhere off the highway:
It is not currently proposed to cater for overnight parking of motor caravans on the highway as to do so would exacerbate the existing concerns around loss of amenity.

Any overnight provision/charges aimed at motor caravans would need to be considered by a county-wide parking review. This will examine off-street council car parks and on-street parking, and should be carried out in collaboration with Tourism and Leisure Services, in order to examine whether or not the council should consider providing specific alternatives for the overnight parking of motor caravans.