Designated campervan area taken over by cars

A former Fermoy resident, who now lives in Scotland, returned to Fermoy last week in his camper van, however, was disappointed to discover that the local parking facility for campervans was occupied by cars.

Last Wednesday, September 15, Peter Slattery noted that he arrived in Fermoy at around 11.30am and was unable to get parking at the designated campervan parking facility on Kevin Barry Hill.

Speaking with The Avondhu, Peter described it as a ‘big let-down’, noting that the new Fermoy facility had been heavily advertised online.

“We observed two people drive into the car park and park in the campervan spaces. It’s a big let-down. When we went to Cobh, we had no problem with parking because if cars park there, they get fined”

“Fermoy is a lovely place to stay and we do spend a lot of money here having meals out and shopping,” Peter said.

After a trip to Cobh, Peter returned to Fermoy on Friday and claimed that there were two other campervans also seeking parking, one of which ended up parking at the Library car park, while the other one drove to Cork.

While there is signage in place, outlining the designated campervan parking spaces, in Peter’s experience, this is ‘ignored completely’.

‘FERMOY IS A LOVELY TOWN - IF YOU CAN GET PARKING’

Returning at around 5pm on Friday to the site, Peter said he was then able to park comfortably on Kevin Barry Hill and noted that there were four other campervans also parked there at the time.

“It’s hit and miss, but cars parking in campervan parking is a common issue around the country. Fermoy and Cobh are the only ones around here though. It’s a great thing, it’s absolutely fantastic and Fermoy is a lovely town – if you can get parking.

“There is other parking in the town, folk have no respect. It’s hard to park a campervan, you can’t just park on the side of the street or in a small car park and it’s a shame that it’s coming to this,” Peter added.

Having not visited the area in quite some time, Peter said that the town of Fermoy has improved majorly in recent years and stated that he was ‘very impressed’ with the progress.

“In the ‘80’s Fermoy was very dilapidated and run down, but now it’s absolutely one of the best towns in Ireland. There has been a lot of improvement in the last ten years, a lot has changes and I’m very impressed.

“It’s so nice to come back to Fermoy. The new campervan parking is advertised a lot in Scotland as a place you can go in and park and feel safe. I’m in a lot of Facebook groups for campervans and motor-homes and so many people want to visit Ireland and I would love to be able to promote Fermoy, but I couldn’t get parking,” Peter said.

The issue of cars parking in the designated campervan facility was previously highlighted in The Avondhu after images surfaced online of the parking facility filled with cars.

Currently, the facility is being run on a trial basis and the area, highlighted with road markings, takes up approximately 11 car parking spaces.

BEING TRIALLED

Cork County Council this week issued a response to The Avondhu on the matter, noting that the council trialled the campervan area on Upper Kevin Barry Hill for the summer months.

“The Council provided campervan spaces and requested that cars not park in this area. The Council’s wardens patrol the area during working hours, however, due to the campervan parking operating on a trial basis, no fines or deterrents are enforced.

“The trial will be reviewed in the coming weeks,” a spokesperson said.