I noticed Bill and Barry's responses to Renner-Thompson's FB post and penned another.
I doubt whether it will make one jot of difference.
Never met a councillor of any persuasion yet who took a blind bit of notice of anyone else's opinions, but you can always live in hope!
Here it is:-
"I am outraged about the myths that proliferate about campervans and motorhomes. As a born and bred Geordie, Northumberland is nearly always my go to place when I need a short break locally. I am a 63 year old woman with cancer. I currently own a small motorhome with all the facilities on board to cater for my needs, including onboard shower, toilet and instant hot water. It keeps me safe with the ability to self-isolate. It is a completely self-contained home on wheels. The thought that I would dump the effluent from the motorhome holding tanks by the side of the road or in the dunes is absolutely abhorrent and it's something no responsible motorhome owner would ever dream of doing!
Whilst I understand that you may well have had an influx of 'covidiots' recently due to the effects of the pandemic, this is very much a draconian response to the 'problem' which will have a knock-on effect with the many thousands of highly responsible motorhome owners - including foreign motorhomes from Europe who are used to Aires and frequent one-night park-ups while travelling. Although I doubt we'll be seeing the return of the latter anytime soon!
We don't always wish, or indeed need, to be corralled onto campsites. Many of the motorhoming fraternity I know travel on a whim. That's one of the major benefits of owning a motorhome. It isn't always possible to just turn up last minute and book into a campsite. They are usually full up in high season, and even more so since the pandemic arrived and everyone wants to 'staycation' instead. It is possible that some of the problems you have been experiencing recently are due to the fact that many caravan and camping sites will currently only accept self-contained motorhome due to the pandemic. This is because their toilet and shower facilities remain closed regardless, so anyone in a campervan without the proper facilities (and who may be new to the pastime) would be refused entry onto their sites in any case.
You could try a different approach and think outside the box. It is obvious that many people do not actually understand how motorhomes and campervans work. There are many ways you could see the situation as a very workable business opportunity rather than a problem to be faced off with draconian prevention measures.
It's so very sad to be made to feel so unwelcome in a part of the country that has meant so much to me all of my life simply because of my mode of transport."
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