Call for code of conduct over surge of campervans parking up in Kenmare 

Locals complaining there is nowhere to park on Kenmare Pier as up to 30 campervans a day are taking up all available spaces, council meeting heard

A meeting of Kenmare Municipal District Council was told Kenmare Pier is choc-a-bloc with the vans overnighting as there is no camping park in the town. File picture David Creedon

There have been calls for a code of conduct for campervans and motorhomes in a Kerry town amid a large increase in the number of vehicles being parked up there.

A meeting of Kenmare Municipal District Council was told Kenmare Pier is choc-a-bloc with the vans overnighting as there is no camping park in the town.

The council is now set to follow the example of Donegal and bring in a code of conduct after a call by Waterville’s councillor Norma Moriarty.

Independent councillor Dan McCarthy said too many campervans are parked at Kenmare pier, a popular seaside walkway in the town, every night and locals are complaining there is no space for them to park.

He said he had received numerous calls and had gone to view the situation himself and found them lined up at the pier.

He pointed out the cost of car rental and hotels has led to people renting campervans, which provide both transport and accommodation all in one.

People are also converting ordinary vans to sleep in them and overnight in scenic areas. Mr McCarthy said regulation and a network of campervan parks was urgently needed.

“Between 25 and 30 campervans are now at the pier in Kenmare,” he said. "We need regulation. There needs to be facilities.”

It is the second time the issue of campervan parking in Kenmare had been raised.

The council has agreed now to look at developing a code as part of its tourism review. Similar to Donegal’s, such a code, in conjunction with Fáilte Ireland, will advise where to park, and where to eat and on disposal of waste and location of bring banks.

Meanwhile "noisy manhole covers" are keeping tourists and locals awake at night in Kenmare, Fine Gael councillor and mayor Patrick Connor-Scarteen said.

Area manager Martin O'Donoghue said several agencies were involved — water, sewage, telecoms — and it was important to inform the council so it could identify who should rectify the covers.