Visitors will be charged for parking at a popular Lochaber tourist destination from next week – but locals won’t have to pay a penny.
New car parking charges are being introduced at the Nevis Range Mountain Resort near Fort William starting on Monday.
It will cost visitors to the popular centre £3 a day, but people who live in Lochaber will still be able to park their cars free of charge.
Heather Negus from the resort – which has the famous mountain gondola on Aonach Mor as well as snow sports, mountain biking and high ropes courses – said: “The new machines were installed at the car park this week and the signage goes up on Friday advising people what the charges are.
“But anyone who lives in Lochaber can come along and get a season ticket so they won’t have to pay.
“All they need to do is bring a utility bill or similar with them to prove they are a local resident.
“They will be able to do this in the café too if it is busy, so people won’t have to queue.”
Ms Negus explained that the charges for visitors will be used to improve the car park.
“At the moment we have a donations box so people can leave money for parking. But the infrastructure of the car park needs to be improved and this costs a lot of money.
“Charging for parking seemed to be the logical step to help pay for this.
“But it is good news for everyone living in Lochaber, which is a big area, as they can come along and won’t be charged for parking their cars.”
The car park will be open throughout the season which closes at the end of October.
