Colchester Castle receives £1.3m for 'urgent' repairs
A castle that boasts the largest Norman keep in Europe has received nearly £1.3m for urgent maintenance.Work to upgrade Colchester Castle's drainage system and fix issues caused by water leakage is due to start in the coming months.The investment is part of the government's £270m Arts Everywhere Fund, which aims to boost growth by improving heritage and cultural venues.Last year the Grade I listed landmark had 83,000 visitors, including 20,000 schoolchildren, and is to remain open during the works.
The castle was built in the 1070s upon the historic foundations of the Temple of Claudius, which was decimated during Boudica's uprising against the Romans.Colchester's Labour MP Pam Cox said: "The funding will not only address the urgent drainage issues but also ensure that the castle remains a cherished landmark for residents and visitors alike."Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said investment in the arts and cultural venues was vital. "They are the building blocks of our world-leading creative industries and make a huge contribution towards boosting growth and breaking down barriers to opportunities for young people to learn the creative skills they need to succeed," she said.The announcement includes a pot of money worth £120m, which will be available to 17 major institutions such as the British Museum, National Gallery and National Museums Liverpool.But the package has been criticised for supporting "traditional and heritage culture" at the expense of contemporary facilities.
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The Herald Scotland
19 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
It is time that campervan users are taxed off the NC500
Cross the Rockies from Calgary to Vancouver in Canada and the roads and campsites are absolutely full of them, mainly driven by overseas tourists with all the time in the world on their hands. Over there, they are very much welcomed, although there will undoubtedly be some grumbles from locals who are constantly stuck behind them, To be fair, the main road through the Rockies is pretty decent and there are plenty of places to overtake. But it is a very different situation in Scotland where campervans are treated as public enemy number one, particularly by people who live along the NC500. It is easy to understand why they are so controversial. For a start, the NC500 is not equipped to deal with campervans, particularly the famed Bealach na Ba from Lochcarron to the Applecross peninsula. It is a nerve-wracking series of hairpin bends straight up the hill and it is scary enough when you only have cars coming the other way to worry about. But despite signs at the bottom that state clearly the road is not suitable, many campervan drivers take the risk which is as stupid as it is selfish. It is not just the Bealach na Ba, though, where campervans are causing misery for locals, it is along the entire route - one which just isn't set up for such mass tourism with its sharp bends and single lanes. Glorious it may be but driving it comes with responsibility and that is where many campervan users let themselves down. To be blunt, locals have simply had enough of them and it is hard to argue against them. Read more Alan Simpson Last week, the Labour candidate for the Inverness & Nairn constituency at next year's Holyrood election proposed a tourist tax on campervans visiting the Highlands. Shaun Fraser said the roads 'cannot cope' with the huge increase in traffic in recent years. He said the move would form part of a 'fair and well–designed' visitor levy to help maintain roads and fund public services stretched by surging tourist numbers. The Highlands have seen a dramatic increase in motorhome tourism in recent years, with Highland Council estimating that nearly 36,000 campervans toured the region in 2022 alone. That has led to a surge in complaints about congestion, illegal overnight parking, and waste being dumped. Residents on the NC500 route have reported damaged verges, blocked passing places and overfilled bins during peak season. Highland Council estimates a 5% levy on overnight accommodation could raise £10 million a year — with that figure rising further if a charge on campervans is included. The council held a four–month public consultation on its draft scheme earlier this year and is now considering the feedback ahead of a full council vote. If approved, the levy could come into force by winter 2026 - the earliest permitted under legislation passed by Holyrood last year. That law, the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act, gives local authorities the power to impose a charge on overnight tourist stays and spend the revenue on services that support tourism. While the levy must be used to fund tourism–related improvements, critics have warned it must not be used to replace core funding lost through years of cuts. Scottish Labour has long supported the introduction of a visitor levy and backed the legislation at Holyrood. The party says councils should be empowered to design their own schemes and use the money to improve facilities for both residents and visitors. However, it was recently criticised by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who described it as a tax on 'ordinary working people'. Mr Fraser said: 'Initiatives such as the North Coast 500 have transformed the dynamics of Highland tourism, with a huge rise in campervans using rural single–track Highland roads. "Our roads cannot cope with this. It is a mixed blessing.' "Highland communities and local services must benefit from tourism. I support a fair and well–designed visitor levy and sensible measures to manage the impact of campervans. 'I would be open to looking at options attached to campervans, including number plate recognition to charge visiting campervans using Highland roads. I think that this should be considered.' While this may sound draconian, it is certainly well worth considering. Anyone who has driven the NC500, or at least parts of it, particularly in Wester Ross and Sutherland, can see the road is not suitable for such a vast amount of campervans. And with the rise of social media sites such as Instagram fuelling people's desires to get the best pics at beauty spots that regularly feature then the situation is not going to get any better. Any revenue raised that pays for better facilities and road improvements would be welcomed by pretty much everyone. For those put off by the levy, then they probably weren't the type to go and act responsibly anyway. Like everything else, it is not the campervans fault entirely, but the people who drive them and their passengers. They are to blame for the state of the place and there is absolutely no excuse for behaving like savages just because the area is beautiful but remote. They would be the first ones to complain if folk from the Highlands travelled down to their local park, left litter and human waste lying about and parked up on a path for days. Obviously, the good folk of the Highlands wouldn't dream of doing such a thing so why do people from urban areas think it's fair game? It is a good idea to tax them, in my opinion, in fact it should be extremely expensive so that it deters many people. Maybe training courses should also be mandatory, educating people on the right way to drive and behave generally when travelling on rural roads. Tourism is the main economic driver of the Highlands but it is in severe danger of becoming over-visited. It is no longer just a summer thing, but now lasts throughout the year thanks to initiatives such as the NC500. But there is a tipping point and we are probably nearly there already as many of the remotest areas become swamped and can no longer cope. Visitors all have a responsibility when they are on holiday and anything that can deter the irresponsible ones should be welcomed - by everyone.
The National
a day ago
- The National
Scotland charts new course with targeted cruise tax plan
Summer in the isles is cruise season. You can't miss it. Last year saw more than 1000 ships and 1.2 million passengers calling into Scottish ports. An increase of almost 50% on pre-pandemic arrivals, big ship arrivals are getting larger and more frequent. Last May, the 6000-passenger MSC Virtuosa became the largest ship to visit Shetland to date, doubling the population of Lerwick overnight. The equivalent of 12 jumbo jets of tourists arriving at once on the harbour wall. It's no wonder it feels like cruising has reached a high-water mark in some ports. Following the Visitor Levy Scotland Act, passed into law last year, a separate cruise ship levy is currently under review. Announced by the Scottish Greens in 2024, it was destined to be about more than just collecting revenue in local ports. READ MORE: Labour has 'given up' on by-election amid SNP-Reform contest, says John Swinney The big, white ships have become a totemic issue for the tourism industry. Travelling under flags of convenience – often under marine diesel power – they have come to represent over-tourism, unaccountability and harmful emissions. That said, in many places, they are also a mainstay for local shops and businesses, making up more than half of total arrivals in some ports. The cases both for and against cruises are as large and complex as the $70 billion global industry. So, when a local cruise tax was floated, it was surprising to see the degree of support from both sides of this introduced, Scotland would be the first part of the UK to have a cruise specific tax. Though there are plenty of overseas ports that have already introduced charges on the grounds of tackling environmental issues and problem tourism. Some destinations like Amsterdam have gone as far as banning future ship arrivals – saying no economic gain can outweigh the 'crowds and emissions'. The city will halve arrivals next year, closing its passenger cruise terminal by 2035. Others have used levies as a source of revenue for regional councils, which see tens of thousands of arrivals each summer and little direct return. Earlier this year, the Orkney Island Council came out in favour of a cruise ship levy. After welcoming a record 160,000 passengers via the cruise terminal in Kirkwall, a levy was seen as a way to address growing tourist numbers and over-stretched budgets. 'A cruise ship levy could allow local authorities to maintain essential services and infrastructure,' said council leader Heather remains a divisive issue, especially in the regions that feel the impacts most keenly – both positive and negative. Cruise taxes, on the other hand, have a far broader appeal. (Image: George Munro) This is not the first time a tax on Scottish tourist ships has been proposed. Cruising got special attention when a 'discretionary visitor levy' was debated in 2019 and ultimately abandoned. The passing of the Visitor Levy Act and the return of cruising to the dock of public opinion are signs of a new momentum behind a specific tax on liners. Given half of the UK's growing two million-passenger cruise industry made a call at a Scottish port last year, the appeal of Scotland as a destination gives local authorities confidence in a levy's viability. However, unlike Edinburgh City cashing in on festival goers or a proposed Highlands B&B bed tax, a ship levy has the potential to be far more impactful. In the face of a poorly conceived charge, cruise operators warn they might weigh anchor and take their business elsewhere. What could a cruise levy look like? Despite the unmistakable shape of a passenger liner, a cruise levy is a difficult thing to define. Cruise ships are big, getting bigger, with vessels growing at a rate of 10,000 gross tonnes per decade. Still, there is huge variance within the growing industry, especially in smaller regional ports around the British Isles. The Scottish cruise levy has been given a very broad scope to account for this. Under the consultation, the current basis to charge vessels would be ships 'carrying paying passengers', on 'a journey involving two or more nights' and that 'give passengers the option to disembark on to the Scottish mainland/islands'. This could apply to anything from a private yacht charter to an 8000-passenger Icon-class cruise liner. The potential abuse of a 'single night cruise loophole' has been raised, allowing bad faith operators to dodge a levy by issuing multiple tickets or running a token ferry service. Given the state of some sea links, this might not be the worst of unintended consequences. The biggest clues as to what a levy might look like are in its objectives. The cruise levy was suggested as an alternative to the Visitor Levy, where a bed tax is not viable. Greens MSP Ross Greer says his party proposed the levy with regional cruise ports in mind. (Image: PA) 'There are areas like Inverclyde, that I represent, which realistically are not going to see a huge benefit from the Visitor Levy because there aren't huge numbers of people staying in hotels on land, but they get thousands of ship passengers passing through every year,' he says. The port of Greenock is set to welcome 80 ships this summer, with the majority of visitors going straight through to Glasgow and the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs on day visits. 'We want to make sure that as many communities as possible are getting the benefit of the huge number of visitors that come to Scotland every year. The Visitor Levy goes a long way to do that. The cruise ship levy is the next part of the puzzle.' Although the consultation has made it clear there are additional goals. Environment is given special consideration, with specific questions on whether a levy can be used to target cruise emissions. A ship running on marine diesel churns out the particulate pollution of around one million cars, according to Germany's NABU union. More modern ships using liquified natural gas LNG, designed to remove most of the more damaging heavy pollutants, still churn out 250g of carbon dioxide per passenger kilometre. Or, the equivalent of every passenger driving the same journey in a family car, one-and-a-half times. 'Cruises come with significant economic benefit but none of that takes away from the fact that cruise ships are just about one of the most environmentally damaging kinds of transport there is,' said Greer. When it was taken forward for development, the Greens hoped that a levy could have a steer on the size and type of ship being used. At the party conference in October, it was proposed that a levy could even be used to encourage a switch to zero emissions vessels in Scotland. So is it a green tax or a tourist tax? ON the face of it, the cruise levy is being formulated for seemingly contradictory goals. It is expected to both discourage ships, while also giving incentive to attract more revenue-earning visits. Cruise operators' main criticisms of a levy is that they are not sure which to prepare for. 'The challenge is that we're not really sure of the purpose of the levy,' says Andy Harmer, managing director of CLIA United Kingdom & Ireland. The Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) has been representing ship operators at roundtable discussions during the early consultation process. 'Our planners, cruise itinerary makers, work three or four years in advance from now and that uncertainty isn't particularly helpful,' says Harmer. (Image: Newsquest) Given the timeframe, passengers booking cruises with stops in Scotland may already be subject to a future cruise levy. CLIA members are keen to get clarity as soon as possible. As the largest trade association representing 95% of the world's cruise ships, negotiating levies is now a familiar consideration for CLIA partners. Particularly in Europe. Over the past five years, a wave of cruise-specific tourist taxes have arrived in some of the busiest ports of call, from Barcelona to Dubrovnik. Examples that Scotland is currently looking to. What separates the Scottish cruise levy is the fact that it would grant all local authorities the ability to introduce their own taxes, potentially, at once. The result could be a patchwork of different levies, independent of Holyrood or Westminster. 'I don't want to speak for our cruise lines, who will make their own commercial decisions in this space, but I think our concern is that there are other opportunities. There are other destinations,' says Harmer. 'What we don't want is for Scotland to be seen as an unattractive place to do cruise business.'Cruise Britain, which promotes the destination and monitors cruise arrivals, says a cruise levy could result in some ports seeing more ships tendering for visits, not fewer. 'Scotland is really important to the British cruise story. Around half of all day-call transit guests will step ashore in Scotland, which gives you an idea of how key that experience is,' says director Kay Greenway. As well as an attractive destination in its own right, due to its location Scotland is an important node on the Global cruise network. Receiving shipping from Northern Europe and the Atlantic, almost a third of the global fleet passes through the UK waters in a year. 'A patchwork outcome would really disadvantage some ports against others,' says Greenway. The prospect of locally managed cruise levies are far more difficult for cruise operators to navigate. Clarity and simplicity are the main criteria for the cruise industry. However, there is no mechanism for a top-down, national cruise tax. 'Devolution doesn't allow the Scottish Government to create new national taxes without the Treasury's agreement, so we create new local taxes by necessity,' says Ross Greer, though he doesn't see this as a bad thing. Following the Scottish Visitor Levy, similar legislation has been inspired in the Welsh Sennedd. A final vote on the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Bill will take place in Wales this summer. South of the Border, Friends of the Lake District bemoaned being unable to introduce an Edinburgh-style bed tax in Cumbria as there is no legal route to make this happen in England. As with the Visitor Levy, it will be up to each local authority to weigh up the benefits of their own cruise tax. Greer and the Greens say the priority is creating a levy that suits the local authorities rather than the cruise lines. 'By Scotland going first, because of our natural environment and the high number of cruise passengers that we get here, we can set an example for the rest of the UK,' Greer adds. Can a cruise tax encourage greener liners? Scotland isn't the first country to try to introduce a sustainability tax on liners. The results of these, however, have been mixed. A review by the Scottish Government shows that cruise levies see a fairly limited reduction in arrivals. The examples show most cruise ports return to pre-levy arrival levels almost instantly. Since imposing a €7 (£6) a day tariff in 2018, Barcelona's cruise arrivals have grown almost 10% to 2.18 million passengers. At the other end of the spectrum, there have been over-ambitious 'cruising bans' that have had to be rowed back. Norway made waves by announcing it would ban all greenhouse-gas-emitting ships from its Western Fjords from 2026. This was until last year, when it was clear almost no ships were able to meet these strict requirements. Now, ships over 10,000 tonnes have been granted an additional six-year grace period. (Image: Søren Lund Hviid/Alamy) The threat of a ban to the Unesco Heritage Site was enough to spur development of hybrid battery-powered fleets. Homegrown cruise operators Hurtigruten and Havila are currently leaders in hybrid electric-liquid natural gas shipping. Though, in most cases, Norway's aspirational cruise rule was aimed at ships that simply don't exist yet. Similarly, the industry's own climate goals will require a strong tailwind to be achieved and help from the destinations they visit. Following the UN's guidelines, CLIA set the target of meeting net zero cruising by 2050. This April, the UN's IMO put further pressure on cruise ships to meet these pledges, charging $380 per excess tonne of carbon dioxide. Yet in Scotland and the UK, one of the largest obstacles to reducing emissions is the lack of shore power, allowing ships to run off the grid rather than burning fuel in port. 'There is lots of sustainable electricity being generated in Scotland as there is in Norway,' says CLIA's Harmer. 'The difference is, in Europe, they have a mandate to have shoreside power in their key ports by 2030. There is no such mandate in the United Kingdom at the moment.' While Orkney and Aberdeen have the ability to supply power to ferries and some other large ships, the only cruise port in the UK with suitable shoreside power is Southampton. Levies provide an opportunity to invest in infrastructure that will be needed to decarbonise shipping. Something that Harmer says will be much harder to do if the pressure on reducing emissions is put entirely on the liners. CLIA aren't the only ones with suggestions on how revenue from a cruise tax would be best spent. Some environmental groups have suggested proceeds should be ring-fenced to address the impact of shipping on Scottish ports. If it is unlikely to have a major impact on the number of calls, it might as well be used to monitor sustainability goals and compliance. Friends of the Earth, which produces an annual grading of liners' environmental credentials, says they support a cruise levy with environmental goals in Scotland but relying on operators to self-report sustainability goals is a flawed system. The US branch has recorded 16 major violations from CLIA members in the past three decades. Marcie Keever, director of oceans at Friends of the Earth US, says proceeds could be used to fund an independent observer programme 'because this industry has difficulty complying with environmental rules and standards'. Meanwhile, UK-based marine life charity ORCA says, if it is difficult or not desirable for local authorities to curb ship arrivals, there are ways that cruise ships can do good for Scotland's marine ecosystem. 'When it comes to a levy like the one that has been proposed, it certainly makes sense for this to be invested at least in part in protecting and safeguarding the habitats that the tourism sector relies on,' says ORCA director of operationsSteve Jones. The charity has previously partnered with shipping to monitor the health of Scotland's 240 Marine Protected Areas. Having levy-funded observer programmes on cruise ships could help track their impact and ensure best practice around Scotland. Ultimately as local taxes, proposed under the current devolution settlement, it will be up to the local authorities to allocate any funds from a future cruise levy. The cruise levy consultation period runs until May 30, after which the Scottish Government will prepare a summary ahead of any vote to introduce the levy by Scottish ministers.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Labour and SNP call for Scottish Highlands campervan tax saying roads cannot cope with soaring number of tourists from across the world
Figures from Labour and the SNP are calling for a Scottish Highlands tax on campervans in a bid to raise cash and help maintain the area, as it is warned the country's roads cannot cope with an influx of tourists. The number of visitors to the Highlands has risen by 65 percent since 2012, and many of those visiting bring campervans as they tour the region. Some 36,000 campervans visited the Highlands in 2022, according to the local council, with many encouraged by the development of the North Coast 500, a scenic 500-mile route dubbed 'Scotland's Route 66'. A recent study by Glasgow Caledonian University found the 2015 project has boosted the local economy by £22 million a year, creating about 200 full-time jobs. But tensions have been rising in the Highlands as the area increases in popularity, with complaints from locals that campervan drivers clog up the roads and leave rubbish behind. Labour's Shaun Fraser, who will be standing as their candidate for Inverness and Nairn in the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections, told the Telegraph: 'Initiatives such as the North Coast 500 have transformed the dynamics of Highland tourism, with a huge rise in campervans using rural single–track highland roads. Our roads cannot cope with this. It is a mixed blessing. The council already introduced a voluntary scheme for campervan drivers, who can now pay £40 for a week's pass which would give drivers access to local car parks and daily shower facilities 'Highland communities and local services must benefit from tourism. I support a fair and well-designed visitor levy and sensible measures to manage the impact of campervans. 'I would be open to looking at options attached to campervans, including number plate recognition to charge visiting campervans using highland roads. I think that this should be considered.' Current MSP for the SNP, Emma Roddick, separately called for campervan users to be included in a wider tourist tax being considered by the council. Highlands Council is currently deliberating whether to implement a five percent levy on overnight accommodation. It is said this could raise £10 million per year - and this figure could rise if campervans are included. The council already introduced a voluntary scheme for campervan drivers, who can now pay £40 for a week's pass which would give drivers access to local car parks and daily shower facilities. It is hoped the scheme will eventually raise £500,000. Frustrated locals previously called for an overnight parking ban due to the quantity of touring campervans in the region. Problems cited at the time included rubbish left behind, with the council's £40 scheme not providing waste disposal.
