Poll: Where should UK aires be sited?

[GJH]

a lot of towns and city's have park and ride sites on the outskirts,that are not used at night,part of these could be used as overnight parking for motor-homes,offering good bus access for visitors during the day:thumb:

I agree - not just P&R sites either. All such sites, though, have to be shown to be economically viable. We thought (somewhat naively in retrospect) that Guisborough would be viable but it proved not to be the case, for whatever reason.

 

[womblevra]

A lot of slightly out of town railway stations have large car parks and could offer aire facilities and people would use train to get into the large town.thereby they make money, we save money everyones a winner

 

[GJH]

A lot of slightly out of town railway stations have large car parks and could offer aire facilities and people would use train to get into the large town.thereby they make money, we save money everyones a winner

Careful, you'll end up writing to Network Rail and ATOC as well as all the MH dealers

 

[normanandsue]

I have voted but it will never happen in the uk the government and local council's are to corrupt and there wouldn't be anything in it for them.
Un like the the continental's who are motor home friendly and don't want to fleece the tourist of every penny they have.
bill

Certainly true in England Bill but not as bad in Scotland

 

[magicsurfbus]

Wouldn't Club sites still insist on the 20 yards between pitches rule, or is that somehow waived for CLs (which are not Club property)? Would somebody be insisting you had your fire bucket on display a regulation 4'6" from your doorway? I could see one or two possible culture clashes there.

An increasing number of French campsites are offering MH enclosures with 'lite' facilities, so I don't understand why it's such a huge leap of the imagination for English sites to offer them. Also, if supermarket aires are so impractical and unprofitable, why do you see rows of MHs stopped overnight in many French supermarket car parks in summer?

As others have said, I'd be more nervous about stopping overnight in an English town centre than in a French one, mainly because of the apparent absence of nocturnal feral youths in most of the French towns I've stopped in. Maybe armed Police have something to do with that? Aires are embedded into French commerce and it must be known that they bring Euros into local businesses, whereas here it'd simply be assumed the travellers had moved into the town square and the local knobheads would act accordingly.

I reckon the Canterbury Park'n'Ride is a good model, apart from it shutting on a Sunday, which is the best day to travel to a stopover within reach of Dover and its cheaper Monday ferries.

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[1_man_and_his_dob(lo)]

A CL is my prefered stopping place.. however, many don't provide all weather hard standing.. essential in winter .. so that can be a problem. but many CL owners just don't make enough money to justify the expenditure of laying it.

Probably the main reason I started using Brit Stops - I wanted a list of places I could use as stopovers in the winter, without needing to be towed out the next morning. A time of year when most of the club sites are closed. So I'd use aires next to sites or in town for the same reason.

Many CC sites have late arrival areas for members who have pre booked a pitch and are arriving after 8pm ... They are charged the same nightly fee and you have access to all facilities, including an EHU .
I can't see them changing the rules to let non members use for a reduced pitch fee. That just won't happen.

Maybe club sites that closed for the winter could leave their late arrival area open, with minimal/no facilities, for a small fee?

 

[GJH]

Wouldn't Club sites still insist on the 20 yards between pitches rule, or is that somehow waived for CLs (which are not Club property)? Would somebody be insisting you had your fire bucket on display a regulation 4'6" from your doorway? I could see one or two possible culture clashes there.

No idea, it's only hypothetical at the moment. As I said, the question was raised elsewhere so I simply thought it interesting to gauge potential reaction.

An increasing number of French campsites are offering MH enclosures with 'lite' facilities, so I don't understand why it's such a huge leap of the imagination for English sites to offer them. [HI]Also, if supermarket aires are so impractical and unprofitable, why do you see rows of MHs stopped overnight in many French supermarket car parks in summer?[/HI]
(snip)

Because the law is different here from France.

 

[scotjimland]

Wouldn't Club sites still [HI]insist on the 20 yards between pitches[/HI] rule, or is that somehow waived for CLs (which are not Club property)? Would somebody be insisting you had your fire bucket on display a regulation 4'6" from your doorway? I could see one or two possible culture clashes there.

Not so.. the CC club has to abide by the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 which governs the pitch spacing .. as do all other sites, CLs etc

Spacing

3. Every unit should be not less than[HI] 6 metres [/HI]from any other unit in separate family occupation and not less than 3 metres should be permitted between units in any circumstances.

4. Vehicles and other ancillary equipment should be permitted within the 6 metres space between units in separate family occupation but, in order to restrict the spread of fire, there should always be [HI]3 metres clear space within the 6 metres separation.[/HI]

It's many a long year since I saw a fire bucket by a caravan .. it was never a CC 'rule' only advisory... but it's not a bad idea..

 

[buttons]

Maybe or maybe not

You keep sitting on that fence and Im going to report you to shifty.
I thought it was a worthwhile question.....would CC facilities be open to caravans and the like.

 

[GJH]

You keep sitting on that fence and Im going to report you to shifty.
I thought it was a worthwhile question.....would CC facilities be open to caravans and the like.

That would be up to the CC - if they ever went for the idea. As I said earlier, it's only hypothetical at the moment.

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[iandsm]

Poll

There has been a discussion elsewhere about the possibility of annexing parts of (or extending) existing Caravan Club sites to form aire/nightstop areas for motorhomers who do not need/want the full facilities on offer with a normal pitch.

Leaving aside (for now) potential prices and whether or not fresh water/waste dumping &c would be included I just wondered how popular such locations would be as against aires/nightstops close to town centres.

An interesting poll, what will you do with the results?

 

[GJH]

An interesting poll, what will you do with the results?

Feed back to the person who came up with the idea of aires at CC sites.

 

[johnp10]

I have voted but it will never happen in the uk the government and local council's are to corrupt and there wouldn't be anything in it for them.
Un like the the continental's who are motor home friendly and [HI]don't want to fleece the tourist of every penny they have.[/HI]bill

Never been to Spain, Bill?
In the holiday areas, they see tourists as a money box.

 

[Sidney]

"It would damage the tourist industry" would say the guest house and B&B owners.

"They make the place look untidy" would say the owner of the multi-storey car park.

"They'll dump their faeces in the drains" would say the owner of the land who's trying to turn it into a casino.

What's the point? The three bias views above are what would be run by the news media.

 

[GJH]

"It would damage the tourist industry" would say the guest house and B&B owners.

"They make the place look untidy" would say the owner of the multi-storey car park.

"They'll dump their faeces in the drains" would say the owner of the land who's trying to turn it into a casino.

What's the point?[HI] The three bias views above are what would be run by the news media.[/HI]

Has that happened in any of the few places where overnighting is allowed or only where people are causing a problem? There were one or two objections when we were setting up Guisborough but they were easily resolved before implementation.

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[Allanm]

The aire at Canterbury has proved so popular that the council have opened up another one inside the City Centre. There have been no travellers camping there!
The problem is, leisure isn't seen as a desireable activity by most councils whereas spending all your money at cloned out of town shopping centres that pay huge amounts of rent, is.
This is the attitude you have to change before the UK adopts aires like other countries.
Allan

 

[GJH]

The aire at Canterbury has proved so popular that the council have opened up another one inside the City Centre. There have been no travellers camping there!
The problem is, leisure isn't seen as a desireable activity by most councils whereas [HI]spending all your money at cloned out of town shopping centres that pay huge amounts of rent, is.[/HI]
This is the attitude you have to change before the UK adopts aires like other countries.
Allan

Unfortunately, judging by the crowds, it seems shopping is desirable to many oh:

The officer in charge at Canterbury CC is very helpful but even he has had to be cautious because of traveller problems. The Canterbury experience is, though, one which people could profitably use in approaches to their own councils.

 

[buttons]

http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/commun...ocations/How-much-income-from-a-CL-/rt/24040/

Reading this Link it would appear that a CLs overheads for a one night stay would be in the region of £7-8 before any profit is accounted for. Aires offering a similar service and facilities would I think record the same overheads.

Business rates, water and sewerage charges with the addition of electricity should it be available would have to be paid as well as the capital investment for developing the site in the first place. Add labour charges for cleaning administration and revenue collection as a minimum then Aires would be at least as expensive as any CL.

 

[GJH]

That's what probably puts off private enterprise Buttons, simply not economically viable.

In some cases, use of an existing local authority car park can be viable due to not having to start from scratch on development (as shown by existing schemes) - but LAs need to be convinced that a scheme will not turn into an expensive millstone round the neck of local taxpayers.

 

[Reallyretired]

I voted for town centre car parks as the nearest to what I would actually use. What I would prefer is an aire just outside a town, within walking distance, and preferably a bit nicer than a car park and quieter. In fact the sort of thing we find in France

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[sleep e carr]

aires in scarborough

The aires in the UK is Scarborough why is there not more?
Because there dumb

 

[buttons]

That's what probably puts off private enterprise Buttons, simply not economically viable.

In some cases, use of an existing local authority car park can be viable due to not having to start from scratch on development (as shown by existing schemes) - but LAs need to be convinced that a scheme will not [HI]turn into an expensive millstone round the neck of local taxpayers[/HI].

Am I getting this right? What you are proposing is that just a few wealthy members of our society, those who can afford a second home and more leisure time than most mere mortals can look forward to in a lifetime.

You want their opulent silver service lifestyles to be subsidised by the poor impoverished local sole's who possibly cant even afford a week in Blackpool each year. Come on, if you can afford to own and run a gin palace then you can afford to pay your £15 a night board and login. oh:
Sorry I think this is the biggest example of cheap skating that I have yet come across.

 

[GJH]

Am I getting this right? What you are proposing is that just a few wealthy members of our society, those who can afford a second home and more leisure time than most mere mortals can look forward to in a lifetime.

You want their opulent silver service lifestyles to be subsidised by the poor impoverished local sole's who possibly cant even afford a week in Blackpool each year. Come on, if you can afford to own and run a gin palace then you can afford to pay your £15 a night board and login. oh:
Sorry I think this is the biggest example of cheap skating that I have yet come across.

You what? Can't tell if this is tongue in cheek or whether you didn't read my post properly

 

[schojac]

Crossing threads somewhat; this is why I have a toad in the UK. Most of the CL sites here are rarely close to towns.

 

[GJH]

Crossing threads somewhat; this is why I have a toad in the UK. Most of the CL sites here are rarely close to towns.

The importance of CL location depends on how it would be used. If somebody simply wants an overnight stop en route than a CL (or a main site) out in the country, but close to the route, would fit the bill just as well as an aire.

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[petrol tin glyn]

cardiff council run site in city center £30 per night all year no acsi discount only really full when the rugby"s on:thumb:

 

[buttons]

[HI]That's what probably puts off private enterprise Buttons, simply not economically viable[/HI].
In some cases, use of an existing local authority car park can be viable due to not having to start from scratch on development (as shown by existing schemes) - [HI]but LAs need to be convinced that a scheme will not turn into an expensive millstone round the neck of local taxpayers[/HI].

You what? [HI]Can't tell if this is tongue in cheek or whether you didn't read my post properly[/HI]

Graham affirmative on both of course it was tongue in cheek and yes I did read your post properly. I read your statement that Aires were not viable investments for private enterprise. So who does this leave to pick up the tab for the provision of these subsidised Aires. Even council car parks would incur costs. Simple question.....Who in your opinion should pick up these costs. The user or the local council tax payers.:thumb:

 

[Wyaye wires]

How about abroad? :thumb:

 

[GJH]

Graham affirmative on both of course it was tongue in cheek and yes I did read your post properly. I read your statement that Aires were not viable investments for private enterprise. So who does this leave to pick up the tab for the provision of these subsidised Aires. Even council car parks would incur costs. Simple question....[HI].Who in your opinion should pick up these costs. The user or the local council tax payers.:thumb:[/HI]

As I said, LAs need to be convinced that a scheme will not turn into an expensive millstone round the neck of local taxpayers. By that I mean that there will be sufficient income from the users of the aire to pay its costs. For any such scheme to be fair it must be the user who pays.

 

[GJH]

How about abroad? :thumb:

Nah. They've got too many already

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