Hard standing booking trial
Comments
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I've just read Ian Kelly's (Birch Hill CL) post on the CL HS thread and wonder if that might be a more economical way for the club to convert grass pitches to HS, satisfdying demand without taking away from the look of the site?
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I can't help thinking that grass must be more expensive to run, in the long term than HS, due to the amount of maintenance, and the time it remains out of service not generating revenue. If that is the case and prices are reduced to encourage grass take
up, those on HS will in fact be subsidising the reduction.I think that might depend. A grass pitch will tend to get worn over the season even if members are careful on what they put down in the way of groundsheets etc. Generally they are taken out of use by the end of September. The wardens then reseed and hopefully
by the start of the following season they are back to what they need to be. The real disadvantage with grass pitches, from a financial point of view, is that they have a limited season and therefore limited financial return. The opposite is true of hardstandings
as they are available all year. However they are costly, around £4000 each to convert if my information is correct. Currently the only payback is the extended season. The Club seem to be installing more and more serviced pitches which seem popular but rather
prove the lie that Club sites are too expensive because there seem to be plenty of members willing to pay £3.90 extra (from next year) If grass pitches are the least popular why not have a differential in price? However for that to work it has to be a meaningful
reduction which obviously means there has to be a higher price for a standard hardstanding. Persoanlly I would be happy to pay £2 a night extra to sure of having a hardstanding pitch. Whether it would mean that prices overall would go up its difficult to
tell. On a site with all hardstanding pitches there would be no need to change anything.David
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I've just read Ian Kelly's (Birch Hill CL) post on the CL HS thread and wonder if that might be a more economical way for the club to convert grass pitches to HS, satisfdying demand without taking away from the look of the site?
There used to be some similar type pitches at Chirk, but they have now all been changed to gravel.
Not surprised.....we spent 21 nights on one about 8 years back and that particular surface was lethal when wet as the plastic grids were slippery. I had to peg the step in place, and OH slipped leaving the van and twisted her ankle.
Presumably there are different types of grids, but we came across some in Luxembourg and they were also slippery when wet.
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With any group, a certain percentage will pay top dollar for facilities and that's just fine. Normally there are more margins to be made so no wonder the club is chasing this market segment.
You know what I'm going to say,
beware of alienating the median group. They are the bread and butter of the club's income and the clubs pricing is (according to the forum) doing just that.0 -
Grass pitches over time turn themselves into hard standing.
The weight of a caravan sitting there compresses the soil, and also to a lesser extent the movement on and off every few days. The comings and goings of the tow vehicle affect the soil as well and the weight of motorhomes in and out compound it. After a
few years the top soil becomes harder.If you are on a site where pitches are being excavated take a look at what is being dug out. No wonder the grass does so badly! Moving the peg about to preserve the surface helps to have a greater area compacted. I would like to see a trial where instead
of seed, gravel is spread thinly on the surface frequently and allowed to naturally work its way into the soil to provide support.0 -
We used one AS site that has reinforced pitches not with plastic but some type of cement/concrete blocks with holes in, these were filled in with soil then seeded over so the grass grew through, we also used a site in France that had some kind of matting
on some pitches that reinforced the ground, it didn't seem to be plastic but I'm not sure what it was but it was effective. However both of these were not the same as grass pitches on a CC site where you have to drive over lots of grass to get to them (think
Anglesey) they were straight from the site roads and in place of typical gravel H/S the effect was a much softer look in that the site didn't look like lots of mini car parks.0 -
We used one AS site that has reinforced pitches not with plastic but some type of cement/concrete blocks with holes in, these were filled in with soil then seeded over so the grass grew through, we also used a site in France that had some kind of matting
on some pitches that reinforced the ground, it didn't seem to be plastic but I'm not sure what it was but it was effective. However both of these were not the same as grass pitches on a CC site where you have to drive over lots of grass to get to them (think
Anglesey) they were straight from the site roads and in place of typical gravel H/S the effect was a much softer look in that the site didn't look like lots of mini car parks.I think they are called grasscrete blocks.
David
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To me gravel or chipped granite is a tried and tested form of hardstanding and I don;t inderstand why people try to seek alternatives. I will repeat what I have said before, anyone with walking problems any form of open mesh be it plastic or concrete is a potential danger as a serious trip hazard. The reason I say this is because unless time is spent maintaining such pitches the fill between the main structure of the base erodes. The usual type of hardstanding installed by the Club is minimal maintainence and seems the sensible way to stay.
I have added a picture of a similar sort of paved driveway for motorhomes in France. Its difficult to see in the small picture but the filler has disappeared from some of the pitch which in my view makes it dangerous.Bigger picture here
David
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That type of reinforced grass pitch certainly breaks up the monotomy of rows of hardstanding and looks more attractive, in my view.
However, the preparation of the sub-base has to be really well done, to avoid sinking. Some very heavy vehicles use these pitches and can stand there, imposing point loads, for days on end.
I used some of the plastic mesh woth grass to get our caravan across an area of lawn and put literally tons of crusher-run under it.
As David says, a standard gravel pitch is easy to maintain - if a track forms, just put more gravel in.
I suspect that there are a lot of builders that would bite your arm off for £4,000 to prepare a gravel hardstanding!
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The cc had some pitches at Henley that were the concrete open weave type, and were ok at the begining of the season after being repaired, but were a mess after about a month of use with groundsheets
as they were just concrete with mud filler0 -
Yes, awnings do destroy grass.
That's why they should carry a large supplementary charge.
Do you have an Awning Ian?
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so awnings on gravel pitches no charge? Must be as what damage can an awning do to a HS pitch?
Are we going to have grass awning pitches at one price, HS awning pitches at another?
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....
...Its Groundsheets that do the damage,(all types) ....
Mine doesn't .... grass grows through it
..And there is no damage to grass pitches,?
Not while I've been on them
...Short stays then
No
A fortnight usually has more damage by the mud skirts of the awning than the ground sheet0 -
so awnings on gravel pitches no charge? Must be as what damage can an awning do to a HS pitch?
Are we going to have grass awning pitches at one price, HS awning pitches at another?
i guess one reason for a tiered 'awning' price is that some awning pitches are larger than non-awning?
in many places (where this difference is marked) charges are appropriate to the area used....something like small pitch, large pitch, where awnings dont attract a further charge as this is already accounted for in the larger pitch size.
edit....ooops, good morning, Corners
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I don't like grasscrete or reinforced mesh pitches either in appearance or as a surface to walk on. Ok if you live in crocs and walking boots I suppose but I don't.
I'll pay more for proper HS as we have now but the suggested £2 reduction for grass wouldn't be enough to induce me to use one. I'd swerve CC sites completely if they switched to reinforced grass.
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One reason I prefer gravel etc is that I like to emerge from the caravan in my slippers ehrn I go out to fetch things such as flasks etc from the car or to take out a chair. If I sit outside with OH after returning to the caravan about 4pm (say) I want to
be able to in and out freely to make a brew, pour a glass, use the loo etc. On grass I am likely to pick up mud. On hardstanding I can simple wipe my feet on entry. Also our potatoes, onions and eggs live outside in a wet locker.It has little to do with getting bogged.
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They have the reinforced grass across the front of some of the service pitches at Chatsworth. It gets very messy in wet weather, dragging mud onto the roadway. I noticed when we were there in September, that one row had been converted to gravel fronts.
A much better option in my opinion. Hopefully they will convert the remainder soon.0 -
Hi guys, it seems lots of you have questions about the results of the hardstanding booking trial.
After running the trial for two seasons, member feedback confirmed that there was no overwhelming benefit to the majority of members to extend it. Therefore, The Club has agreed that the trial is taken no further at this stage, and that the pitches on the
five sites involved in the trial will revert to their original state of standard ‘awning’ and ‘non-awning’. Lessons from this trial will prove very useful in determining how to improve the experience for members in the future.We will be publishing full results of the trial in the November edition of The Caravan Club magazine.
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