Owners call for tolerance after motorhome ban

Motorhome owners have called for tolerance after a council ruled they would no longer be permitted to park on a seafront promenade.

They had been allowed unlimited free parking on Undercliff Road East in Felixstowe, but East Suffolk Council has deemed the road "unsuitable" for high volumes of such vehicles and will ban them from 7 July.

Some residents have welcomed the decision, but motorhome owners claim they are being discriminated against.

The council said alternative parking would be provided.

With easy access to the beach, free tap water and public toilets just metres away, the road has become a popular destination for touring vehicles.

But local raised concerns that motorhomes were parking for months at a time, preventing them and visitors from being able to enjoy the area.

The council's order will create car-only parking bays, without a time limit to enable longer stays, as well as time-restricted bays for disabled badge holders.

The authority also hopes the ban will help "residents and visitors access the beachfront easily".

Felixstowe resident and motorhome owner Katrina Cable, 52, called on those on either side of the divide "to work together".

"I agree there is an issue of sorts and I see why it might put people's noses out of joint, but there has to be a compromise," she told the BBC.

"We get all sorts of comments like 'Look at that monstrosity', so I am extremely conscious, but it's an ignorance, sadly.

"We are human beings with kind hearts; we are not these ogres that we are being made out to be. We are peacekeepers and would do anything to help anybody."

Another local resident, Kath Gaynor, 73, said: "It does feel unfair that those of us that like to use the beach and that live here don't get the full access we thought we did or could.

"We have a disabled son and he arrives here in his accessibility vehicle, but it's often quite difficult to enable him to get out and unloaded.

"Lots of families want to come here in their cars with their kids but you have 15 big motorhomes where there could have been space for 60 cars."

Motorhome owners told the BBC their presence should be embraced, as they contributed to the local economy by using the town's shops and pubs.

But local resident John Gaynor, 73, said he did not believe they did enough to integrate into the local community, adding that while some were "pleasant", others could be "unfriendly".

"They look after themselves and they are on their own – they don't mix," he said.

"They are very intrusive for us because we have had one or two of them parked here for two months."

Another homeowner, who did not wish to be named but has lived on the road for 15 years, said the situation had become "awful".

"I pay a lot of money to live here and all I see [is motorhomes], and if you ask them to move you get a load of verbal," she said.

"Last night there were five in a row – a whole train of them. I love living here, apart from the motorhomes."

Ian Cable, 69, said the idea that motorhome owners were a nuisance was a misconception.

"I can understand some of the frustration when it comes to any sort of parking in seaside towns but we have to embrace it; that's what we have to do, not fight, embrace it," he said.

"I don't know what they think us motorhomers are, but we are law-abiding people who are paying their dues."

The forthcoming ban has been welcomed by Paul West, Suffolk County Council Conservative cabinet member for operational highways and flooding, who said motorhomes had been allowed to "dominate the promenade".

But campervan owner Gayle Myers-Drake said the ban could put people off visiting the town.

"I have health issues so I have to have my own toilet onboard and so I am bit frustrated," she said.

"We are not all that bad, but we have all been put into the same bracket.

"I can understand them putting in an overnight ban and charging for car parking spaces but to do a complete ban is discrimination.

"Why would people want to go to Felixstowe when they are treated in this way?"

East Suffolk Council said it remained committed to providing parking for motorhomes and campervans in the town.

"Alternative parking for larger vehicles will be available at Manor Terrace, Landguard, Garrison Lane and Golf Road," a spokesperson said.

"Overnight parking in these locations will be permitted for a maximum of three days, with no return within seven days. Signage and larger bays will be introduced."

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