A community group in a Moray village has applied for planning permission for motorhomes to park at a beach car park after being told they would otherwise have to drop the fees.
Campervans have been encouraged to use the site in Findhorn since summer 2018 to address congestion and mess complaints elsewhere.
An honesty box system for the car park was introduced the same year with motorhome encouraged to pay £10 for an overnight stay with cars asked to pay £1.
The system generates more than £1,000 every year for the Findhorn Village Conservation Company (FVCC) to run projects to improve the community – including creating fire breaks to protect homes from wild fires, fixing pot holes and repairing fences.
However, the group risked losing the income after it emerged that they may have to drop the charges following discussions with Moray Council – unless it secures planning permission.
An application, supported by the Findhorn and Kinloss Community Council, has now been submitted to planners to allow the car park to be used by up to 21 motorhomes at a time for a maximum of 36 hours.
Frank Allan, chairman of FVCC, explained vehicles parking elsewhere in the village previously risked becoming a safety issue due to some roads becoming almost impassable.
He said: “We get a lot of them coming in, which is fair enough, but buses and lorries were having to go up on the pavement to get past them.
“We’ve had a good relationship with Moray Council throughout but we can’t really lose the honesty box because it’s our main source of income.
“We’ve been running it as a pilot scheme until now while following what the council has asked of us, which has included monitoring motorhomes over a set period.”
Mr Allan explained bins are provided at the site with skips brought in during the summer season to cope with the extra rubbish.
The also plans include formalising marked bays for campervans using the car park.
