WEST Dorset District Council’s changes to Station Yard car park have been met with mixed reactions from residents and business owners in West Bay.

Councillors agreed to ban overnight parking - which could be enforced by a locked gate - following a number of complaints regarding motorhomes and caravans using the car park for free overnight, which has resulted in fouling, theft of water and people emptying their onboard loos into public toilets.

This restriction will come into effect alongside changes to The Mound car park, which will no longer have a three-hour maximum stay and will cost £2 an hour, every hour after three hours.

John West, chairman of West Bay Community Forum, said that the car park had been used as an “informal campsite”, which the group had been lobbying against for the past two summers.

He welcomed the news that changes were being made to the Station Yard car park.

He said: “The community forum are delighted that the council has at last acted on this issue, following a lot of pressure from residents, business owners and the forums.

“We very much welcome visitors in both motor homes and caravans to West Bay and there are excellent facilities in at least three recognised campsites locally.

“However, the Station Yard car park is not a campsite, it does not have facilities to dispose of sanitary waste and up to 30 motor homes occupying it for cheap camping, for days at a time, were preventing its use for parking by other visitors to West Bay, leading to parking problems elsewhere.

“We hope the council will now make the new measures work and perhaps this and the changes at The Mound might be the first step towards making the best use of all of West Bay’s car parks.”

Sue Pollock, a resident of West Bay and fellow forum member, said: “I am delighted that the council have now agreed that action needed to be taken and I look forward to it being implemented.

“We live in a lovely part of the world and we want as many people as possible to come and enjoy it, but they must also realise that they cannot abuse the facilities.”

Claire Moore, owner of Station Kitchen restaurant based in the car park, said that the problem had been worse this year with issues of flytipping, water usage from their outside tap and they even received calls at 2am from people asking to turn on their electricity so they could park up.

She doesn’t believe the changes approved will be enough to stop to problems.

She said: “If they are simply banning overnight car parking, this will not stop people from camping overnight, even if they put a gate on and lock the car park, the campers will not be bothered as they are there for the evening anyway.

“The only solution to put a stop to this is to either have a full time car park attendant, or make the entrance smaller so caravans cannot fit through the entrance. Failing that, perhaps instruct a local business owner to help and be a key holder to the gate.

“Either way it needs management or a smaller entrance.”