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‘Raucous crowds’: Tourists still camping in Western Isles cemetery car parks almost a year after ban was agreed, islanders say

Resident Donna Maclean says visiting loved ones still means "running the gamut" of tourists.

Cars parked in a cemetery in Harris.
Crowds of tourists at Luskentyre cemetery in Harris prompted a petition last year. Photo supplied by: Lynne Mackay

Since last December it has been against the rules to use cemetery car parks in the Western Isles as a camping spot.

So why are local people still having to put up with it?

The issue came to a head last year, when a petition headed by Harris resident Lynne Mackay highlighted the number of tourists taking up parking spaces in Luskentyre Cemetery.

Lynne, who was left unable to visit her late husband, called the situation “beyond disrespectful”.

A proposal to ban overnight parking and camping in cemetery car parks was put forward in November, and approved in December.

But now, almost a year later, local people say the problem still persists – and that the Comhairle has not done enough to stop it.

Visitors ‘partying feet away’ from cemetery after ban

Donna Maclean’s father is buried at Dalmore military cemetery in Lewis. Visiting him, she says, now means “running the gamut” of visitors crowding the car park.

“I visited one time and there was a raucous crowd sitting partying feet away from the cemetery.”

A firepit and picnic benches are “metres away” from the cemetery fence, she says.

A selfie of a Donna Maclean, who says visiting her father at Dalmore cemetery has become a struggle due to tourists parking and camping in the car park.
Donna Maclean says that it’s still a struggle to visit her father at Dalmore cemetery. Photo: Donna Maclean

The Comhairle says that it has taken steps to combat the issue.

There is “signage that indicates no overnight parking and signage that outlines designated bays for cemetery users,” a spokesperson says.

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar asks that all visitors to cemetery car parks follow the instructions given by signage.”

Comhairle ‘don’t want to affect tourism’

Donna believes that the Comhairle could be doing more to fight the problem.

“They don’t want to affect tourism,” she says. “I think they’ve passed this rule without fully considering the implications.”

Donna says she and other residents are having trouble voicing their concerns to the Comhairle.

“I’m not getting anything back from them,” she says.

“It could be they’ve forgotten about it entirely – it certainly hasn’t been followed up.”

More local reporting from the Western Isles:

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