St Peter Constable Richard Vibert recently had to take action after overcrowding and anti-social behaviour in the car park in St Ouen’s Bay – a popular spot for motorhome users – led to a number of complaints being made to him.
Mr Vibert said, however, that the Island has to accept that campervan usage is an increasingly popular activity and better regulation and more designated sites is the best solution to the issue.
Paul Hymas, a spokesman for the campervan users at Le Port, has now launched an e-petition, which has already received more than 700 signatures, calling for local people to be able to camp for free in designated areas across the Island for up to 48 hours, similar to the French ‘Aire’ system. If an e-petition gains 5,000 signatures the States Assembly has to consider it for debate.
Under current laws it is illegal to sleep in a vehicle in Jersey outside of a registered campsite but the parish of St Peter has taken a tolerant approach to the many motorhome owners who use Le Port car park.
The Constable said that better regulation and more designated areas would take pressure off his parish and allow problems to be dealt with more effectively.
‘We have to face the fact that there is a growing number of people who want to use motorhomes,’ he said. ‘I would support a French-style system where they have designated areas with a limited number of places and have facilities such as electricity and toilets in place.
‘Users would also have to register, so you would always know who was using it. They would also only be able to stay there for a limited tenure. I do not support people coming here and parking their motorhomes here for the entire summer.’
He added: ‘We have had too many complaints about drunkenness and anti-social behaviour. There are too many people using Le Port at the moment and it would be better if we had a number of regulated, designated areas across the Island.
‘I’m not sure whether my colleagues in the States Assembly would agree with me but it is something that should be debated.’
Mr Hymas said that he would like free camping for up to 48 hours to be available in designated areas within every parish in Jersey.
‘There seems to be a lot of support for free camping. I hope the Constable is happy with the wording and will sign the petition,’ he said.
‘Not just because it takes the pressure off Le Port but so people and their families can enjoy the great outdoors in other places around the Island and not be criminalised for doing so.
‘We want to be able to camp in vehicles and maybe tents for free on public and common land.’
