Scarborough North Bay and Sandsend: the overnight ban
Motorhomes and campervans cannot park between 11pm and 7am on parts of Scarborough's North Bay or the A174 at Sandsend. It began as an experiment in November 2024 and was made permanent in March 2026. What it covers, what it does not, and where that leaves you.
No. On parts of North Bay in Scarborough, and on parts of the A174 between Whitby and Sandsend, motorhomes and campervans may not park between 11pm and 7am. The rule started as an 18-month experiment on 25 November 2024, and North Yorkshire Council decided on 27 March 2026 to make it permanent.
What the order says
| Where | Parts of North Bay, Scarborough, and parts of the A174 between Whitby and Sandsend |
| When | 11pm to 7am, every day |
| Who | "Motor caravans" — motorhomes and campervans. Cars are not covered by this order |
| What kind of rule | A Traffic Regulation Order, made by North Yorkshire Council as the highway authority |
| Since | Experimental from 25 November 2024; decision to make it permanent taken 27 March 2026 |
The exact lengths of road are set by the order and shown by the signs. We have read the council's report and its announcement, not the sealed order, so we are not going to tell you which lamppost it starts at. The sign on the street is what binds you — read it.
The misconception: "it was only a trial"
It was, and that is exactly how most new overnight bans now arrive. An experimental traffic order lets a council switch a restriction on first and consult while it runs, for up to 18 months. This one was due to expire on 25 May 2026. Instead of letting it lapse, the council replaced it with a permanent order carrying the same restrictions.
So "the trial is over" does not mean "the ban is over". Here it means the opposite.
What happened along the way
The council's own report on the experiment is unusually frank, and worth knowing:
- More than 3,000 people responded to the consultation. Over two-thirds said they were motorhome owners, and 90% of those objected.
- The council says 60% of local residents supported it. Both numbers are true at once, and the decision followed the residents.
- Enforcement was real but uneven. In summer 2025, officers patrolled North Bay 16 times and issued 25 penalty charge notices; Sandsend was patrolled 130 times, with 30 notices.
- Vans moved rather than vanished. The report identifies residential streets in Scarborough where motorhomes turned up after the ban, and recommends consulting on similar restrictions at "key residential locations" there. Expect the restricted area to grow.
- A third location, Cayton Bay, was in the original experiment. The council says vandalism prevented a meaningful trial there. The permanent order was reported as covering North Bay and the A174 at Sandsend — at Cayton Bay, go by the signs.
- Nothing has been provided instead. Councillors asked officers to explore dedicated motorhome facilities, with park-and-ride sites suggested. When we checked, none had been proposed.
What it does not ban
- Daytime parking. The order covers 11pm to 7am. Parking a motorhome there during the day is governed by the ordinary bay markings, charges and time limits, like any other vehicle.
- The rest of the coast. This is an order about named lengths of road, not a district-wide rule. Other seafronts have their own orders, byelaws or PSPOs — see beaches and seafronts.
- Being there at 10.55pm. But "I was about to leave" is not a defence at 11.05pm.
If you get a ticket
A penalty charge notice under a permanent order is a real ticket, and the amount and the appeal route are printed on it. The usual grounds apply — unclear or missing signs, the wrong vehicle class, the wrong time. How to challenge a parking ticket covers the process.
Where that leaves you
The honest position: the two most obvious free overnight spots on this coast are gone, the side streets are next, and no replacement exists yet. That leaves campsites, and businesses that have actually said yes.
- The Yorkshire Coast: what our map holds
- Open the map around Scarborough and Whitby
- Sleeping in a pub car park — how to ask
Why this matters beyond Scarborough
This is the pattern to recognise anywhere: a popular free spot, complaints, an experimental order, a consultation that visiting motorhomers lose to residents, a permanent order, then displacement and a second round. The time an objection counts is the first six months of the experiment — and most visitors only learn the order exists when the sign goes up.
In one line
North Bay and the A174 at Sandsend: not between 11pm and 7am, permanently — and treat any nearby street without a sign as "not yet", rather than "allowed".
Sources: North Yorkshire Council, "Results of the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order prohibiting overnight motor caravan parking" (report dated 27 March 2026), for the order's dates, hours, locations, consultation figures and enforcement numbers; North Yorkshire Council news release, "Ban on overnight campervan parking to be made permanent" (20 March 2026); local press reports of the 27 March 2026 decision (This is the Coast). Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the powers used.
Last reviewed 4 October 2026. We have not read the sealed permanent order: the road lengths on the signs are the authority, and further restrictions in Scarborough were being considered when we checked. General guidance, not legal advice.