A MEMBER of Denbighshire County Council (DCC) has said the governing body has arranged a meeting to discuss how to tackle the ongoing issue of motorhomes parking illegally along the North Wales coastline.

Councillor Brian Blakeley (Rhyl South East ward) was informed there would be a meeting ‘this afternoon (Tuesday, August 24) or tomorrow morning’ after another sighting of campervans near the Eisteddfod Standing Stones in Rhyl yesterday.

It is the latest example of an ongoing problem in the region, with motorhomes found parked in the exact same spot last month.

But Cllr Blakeley hopes that a formal discussion about the issue will be the first step to fixing it, saying: “I’m quite happy with the way it’s been addressed and that Denbighshire County Council are dealing with it. I’ve got all confidence in DCC.

“Hopefully, now that DCC have a meeting set up to discuss a way forward to try and resolve the problem happening down there, I’m sure DCC will come to some sort of agreement to put something in place to try and stop this happening in the future.

“We’re trying to promote our seafront to get people back into Rhyl, and this sort of thing doesn’t help.”

After being sent a photo of the campervans, Cllr Blakeley reported the latest incident of illegal parking to DCC’s customer services, who told him they had already received calls regarding this issue and had passed to the matter on to the council’s enforcement team.

A meeting is now scheduled under ‘unauthorised encampment’ to try to resolve it, and while Cllr Blakeley accepts that funding problems make this harder to rectify immediately, he considers this a rather urgent matter.

He added: “We really need to push ahead with finding a site for our travellers; it needs to be resolved pretty quickly.

“You’ve got to find funding for this. What we’re mainly getting at the moment is the people that live on the seafront suddenly finding out that they’ve got all those caravans and campervans appearing and setting up right in front of them.

“Some are travellers who don’t clean up after themselves – the comments I’m getting from people is that heavy fumes of faeces and nappies are also flying around, and that job is left to DCC to clean up after they’ve gone.”

A spokesperson for Denbighshire County Council said: “The Council is aware that there is a collection of caravans and vehicles parked on the Promenade at East Parade in Rhyl. 

"Officers are in the process of gathering information to inform a decision on next steps.”

A Rhyl resident added his disappointment to see them “drive over the verge and the kerb, disrupting people who were sunbathing,” especially after ‘no camping’ signs were recently put up in the area.

Elsewhere, motorhome users were yesterday seen parked at an Abergele promenade, while last week, several campervan owners also seen drying their washing near the North Shore paddling pool in Llandudno.

Conwy County Borough Council said in a statement: “We expect people to park legally.

“Overnight stays are prohibited in the Council’s car parks and at on-street locations around the county.

“Whilst we understand people are eager to get out and about and enjoy North Wales, we ask that everyone remembers to be considerate to others by complying with the law and looking after the environment, which includes disposing of litter properly.

“There are organised camp sites and other stopover options available.”