Fed-up residents living near a stretch of scenic seafront say campervan owners should be charged - to stop the area from becoming a "squatter camp".<br /><br />Locals living near the Shingle Bank on Kent's Isle of Sheppey say many mobile homeowners practically live on the seafront and ruin it by urinating on the beach. <br /><br />However, campervan owners argue they are doing no harm and are contributing to the local community by visiting. <br /><br />The Shingle Bank, on the border of Sheerness and Minster, is a popular spot for visitors to the Isle of Sheppey.<br /><br />The scenic beach also attracts many caravans and campervans, who are not currently charged to park but are not supposed to stay overnight. <br /><br />But resident Tracie Jackson believes people using the car park should have to pay. <br /><br />She points to charges introduced in March to deter extended stays at the previously free Ship on Shore car park, just under 500 metres down the road. <br /><br />Local councillors hoped the charge would stop mobile homes being "dumped" on the seafront for long periods. <br /><br />But Mrs Jackson, who has lived in the area for four years, says the vehicles have simply moved along to the Shingle Bank.<br /><br />“We have to pay and we are not getting anything back from it," she said.<br /><br />“They introduced charges across the road and now they have all moved up there and aren’t paying a penny.”<br /><br />Another elderly resident, who did not want to be named, said if people continue to live there for "weeks at a time" it will become a "squatter camp".<br /><br />“We have to pay for the amenity, which is one of the only nice things we have in the area, and I feel like I can’t use it," the 80-year-old said. <br /><br />“There are caravans parked there for weeks at a time and they are not paying their way in society. <br /><br />"It is taking the mickey out of us who do pay our rates.<br /><br />“It is also unhygienic, as I doubt many of those camping there are using the facilities at Barton Point. <br /><br />"You can see them urinating on the beach.”<br /><br />But Jim Smart, an island resident of 36 years who often drives his Fiat Cab to the beach to relax, brands this line of thinking "ignorant". <br /><br />The 67-year-old adds that most people who park there put money into the local economy. <br /><br />And though he does admit that some abuse the beach by parking their vehicles there for long periods, Mr Smart says most visitors obey the rules and don't park overnight. <br /><br />“People seem to think we are getting away with something here and not paying our way," he said. <br /><br />“I have a house here and pay my rates and there’s a few people who park here who are in the exact same situation.<br /><br />“There’s a woman who lives a quarter of a mile away and spends the whole day here for her mental health.<br /><br />“Charges would affect the local tourism, as a lot of people go down the pub or to a local cafe when they park here."<br /><br />Mr Smart added that mobile homeowners perhaps wouldn't mind paying a fee if the facilities were more like those in Europe.<br /><br />“The trouble is there are no facilities here to pay for," he explained.
