North Coast 500 boss says Highlands 'caught out' by motorhome surge as 'raging' residents left 'desperate'

An incoming boss of the North Coast 500 (NC400) has claimed authorities have been “caught out” by the rapid rise in motorhomes in the Highlands while communities remain “desperate” for controls on vehicles.

David Richardson, who takes up his post as development and engagement manager of the NC500 tomorrow (Monday), called for communities, politicians, public sector and businesses to come together to address the challenges and opportunities associated with the route.

He said the route, which approaches its 10th anniversary next year, was “essential” in the growth of the Highland economy, the creation of jobs and the retention of people living and working in the north.

Kylesku Bridge in Sutherland, a key landmark on the NC500. As the popularity of the driving route surges, so do the challenges for those living and working in the area. | PA

But Mr Richardson, who stressed his views were his own and not necessarily representative of his new employer, added communities on the NC500 were “desperate” for controls on motorhome use and that “tempers were flaring” amid a “lack of urgency” to deal with the issue.

New figures from VisitScotland show 26 per cent of all visitors to the Highlands were now either camping or in campervans.

David Richardson, the incoming development and engagement manager for NC500. | contributed

On the growth and impact of motorhomes, Mr Richardson, who has lived in Sutherland for 38 years and has a long history in the tourist industry, said: “My point is very much that the authorities have been caught out. This growth hasn’t just exploded . It has been exacerbated by Covid, but this goes right back.

“It has been a steady growth, it has now reached 26 per cent and you don’t detect any urgency on behalf of anyone to control it. Local communities are desperate to control it, desperate.

“Nobody has paid much attention to it, least of all governments, so there are no rules and regulations. There is no policing - not policing with a capital P. Rangers have been withdrawn. “You can stick in any local rules you want, but if nobody is doing anything about it, then well, who cares, people will think they can go where they want.

“Tempers are raging and we have got to cool it down. We have got to get it back to proper discussion. We need to get together and by ‘we’ I mean everybody - politicians, the public sector, private sector and communities.”

Achmelvich Beachin Sutherland - another key drawn on the NC500 - on a quiet day. | PA

Countryside rangers stationed in key tourist hot-spots across Scotland wound up their posts in March when three years of public funding from government agency NatureScot ran out. Around 60 posts were lost in total, with 18 of them in Highland.

Rangers were tasked in educating visitors about the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, parking, litter and environmental protection. In Highland, rangers recorded more than 31,000 motorhomes and collected more than 2,100 bags of litter in 2023 alone.

Highland Council has since funded four seasonal access rangers in Sutherland, one of the busiest areas on the route, until at least October.

Mr Richardson said: “We can have rules, but what we need is education. There also needs to be a deterrent. This has got to change. There has to be money found for this.

“Highlands and Islands politicians are well aware of the issues and they are concerned. We need to find a solution and talk about it.”

Meanwhile, Mr Richardson described the introduction of a £40 motorhome pass by Highland Council, which allows visitors to park up for free in 12 car parks, as “well intentioned”, but which had caused a lot of “upset” among established carvan and holiday parks.

Mr Richardson said there was a tendency to regard motorhome users as the “devil incarnate” when really they were just holidaymakers.

He said: “We don’t go on holiday to be an upset to others, you go on holiday to relax and enjoy yourself. Society as a whole is becoming far more selfish and less tolerant in so, so many ways. You have lots of anecdotes of visitors saying ‘we don’t care about you locals’ and equally we have got a lot of locals going out and deliberately looking for things that are wrong because they are so inflamed by it.”

He added: “We have to win over communities, many who feel completely overwhelmed and dissatisfied with the whole thing. At a time of really tight resources, we have got to convince the powers that be that they have got to invest.”

Mr Richardson, who has worked for the Federation of Small Businesses in the Highlands and Islands for the past 13 years, said it was “imperative” to seize the opportunities presented by the NC500 and ensure the route’s benefits are felt beyond the honeypot areas on the 516-mile route.

Encouraging users to ‘slow down’ and explore areas off the main drag could bring economic benefits into areas such as Dingwall and Kyle of Sutherland, both which are witnessing the decline of local business, he added.

Mr Richardson said: “If we squander the opportunity of the North Coast 500, there is no other initiative that is going to replace it.”

The NC500 generated £22.8 million for the north Highlands' economy in 2018, with 180 new jobs created, according to Glasgow Caledonian University’s Moffat Centre for Tourism.

Mr Richardson claimed the NC500 had power to address loss of population and falling school rolls across Highland. Meanwhile, others believe mass tourism has been key to inflating house prices out of reach of those living and working in the area as properties become second homes or holiday rentals which hit the market at a premium.

He said: “The reason I am doing the job is very simple. I have seen a lot going on in the Highlands and Islands, but the one continuation throughout has been demographic decline. It is really, really serious.

“People say ‘oh, we don’t need these tourists’. But jobs in the restaurants, the cafes and the leisure facilities that people enjoy going to rely heavily on tourists. That is what keeps them going. The NC500 and tourism is vitally important.

“Every problem has a solution, but we have got to come together to make it happen. If we don’t, demographic decline is going to continue and all that we will have is a series of retirement communities around our coast. It is already going that way. Jobs and careers is what will hold people and attract young people.”

He referred to those running small businesses on the back of the NC500, such as creel fishing, seafood safaris, and walking and activity tours.

“That is the person I am working for,” he said. “It is not somebody who has retired here because they have fallen in love with the area. They are, of course, important, but I am driven by the people who want to create a future for their children and their grandchildren.

“The NC500 is synonymous with motorhomes and they are one of the things we have to address. But it is also about creating jobs, sustainable jobs with real prospects that will attract young people to stay and young families to move here. The NC500 is the magnet that is going to bring people in.”