"Fury" over forestry parking charges

East Kintyre residents have reacted furiously to news they will now have to pay to park at two Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) car parks.

 

From May 1 2023, users of Port na Storm and Grianan car parks will be charged £1 to park for an hour or £3 to park all day.

 

Signs announcing the decision by FLS, the Scottish Government agency responsible for managing the country's national forests and land, have been erected at the Kintyre sites and 14 others across Scotland.

 

The notices read: “We charge for parking at a number of our visitor sites in order to offset some of the cost of maintaining our car parks, trails and visitor facilities and help look after the forests and their wildlife.”

 

They also advise that to pay, visitors should download the RingGo app or visit the pay by phone parking service's website; “convenient, money-saving” annual and national parking passes are also available to purchase. Blue Badge holders can park for free at all FLS car parks.

 

Carradale resident Sarah Moorcroft, who regularly enjoys walks through forestry land, contacted the Courier to share her frustration.

 

“I am furious that FLS is introducing these charges, which will effectively be an additional charge for living in a rural community,” she said.

 

“I, together with many other local people and family members, regularly use these car parks for exercise. Expecting people to pay £3 for an average dog walk is extortionate when totted up over a year, walking dogs each day, and well beyond many people's already stretched finances.

 

“After years of living with lockdowns, when exercise was demonstrated to be beneficial for people's physical and mental health, to impose these charges is an outrage for people who have already suffered many years of hardships.”

 

She added: “FLS is suggesting that this is to help with upkeep of local facilities – in the case of Carradale and East Kintyre, we are struggling to work out exactly what facilities they are referring to.”

 

An FLS spokesperson told the Courier that the car park itself requires regular up-keep and maintenance but the income from parking charges will also be used to offset the cost of visitor services across the west region.

 

Ms Moorcroft added: “This is a poorly thought out scheme, disproportionately impacting remote local communities.

 

“That long and winding road, so well known globally, is in fact a long and winding road with passing places and, from May 1, there will be nowhere to pull over and rest, or stretch your legs, take in the local scenery, enjoy being in Kintyre. What a welcome for visitors.”

 

Asked how the new policy will be policed, the FLS spokesperson told the Courier that existing staff will be responsible and no additional on-site infrastructure, such as cameras, will be installed.

 

Concerns were raised about how people will be able to make payment in areas where mobile network coverage is poor, as is often the case in remote locations where forestry car parks are located.

 

The spokesperson explained that payment can be made up to 72 hours after visits but that, “in the vast majority of instances”, visitors will be able to pay on site at the time of parking.

 

“Looking after all of our visitor destinations – especially those that are most visited – does place increasing demands on our resources,” said the spokesperson.

 

“The modest daily fee at some of our destinations, together with the income from annual passes, helps relieve the pressure on the local teams that work to maintain them to the standards that visitors expect.

 

“Many of our car parks are free to use and all of our car parks are free to Blue Badge holders. We also offer annual passes for regular visitors as an extremely cost effective option.

 

“We know that our visitors value the forests that we look after and very much appreciate the time that they spend in them.

 

“We have found that many people think that a small, proportionate car parking fee is an acceptable contribution to make for health and well-being benefits well-maintained woodlands provide.”