Motorhome sleeping ban for council car parks

Owners of campervans and motorhomes will be banned from sleeping in their vehicles overnight while using council-owned car parks in Lincoln.

City of Lincoln Council said it had seen a marked increase in overnight stays during the past year.

Joshua Wells, the council's portfolio holder for inclusive economic growth, said it was "creating a fire risk" as the vehicles were parked too closely together.

He believed owners were attracted to prices that were lower than those at official camping sites.

The council, which has 21 car parks, said the problem of overnight sleeping in vehicles was a particular problem at The Lawn, in Union Road.

A total of 914 incidents of overnight parking by campervans had been recorded since May this year.

Council staff said they had received complaints from people living nearby about "the misuse of waste bins and planting areas".

"The campervans are not maintaining a safe distance as they would on a proper campsite, where the recommendation is that they are parked at a safe 6m distance if you are staying overnight," Wells said.

Drivers pay £5 per night to park overnight at The Lawn, or £9.80 for up to 24 hours. That compares with the £21.50 average price for an overnight stay for a motorhome at the council's Hartsholme Country Park campsite.

Campervan and motorhome owners will still be allowed to use the car parks overnight if their vehicles are left empty.

The council said that, from November 25, anyone found sleeping in a vehicle overnight in one of its car parks would be fined £50.

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