Unable to book
I have tried to book Clumber Park and Morn Hill for next May and June.
They look as if they are closed, does anyone know why?
Comments
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Somebody mentioned a possible refurbishment for Clumber Park, plus several other sites but Morn Hill wasn't mentioned? You may have to check direct with the Club. Morn Hill is so overdue for a makeover which points to problems with leases?
David
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You would think it easy enough. However, this club is not known for its clear communications. One reason might be they are unsure of exactly when the refurbishment will start and perhaps those dates shown as closed in October could suddenly become available. A few years ago Chatsworth was suddenly shown as closed after we had booked it, apparently a refurbishment was planned. We received no communication from the club and as we didn’t want to go anywhere else we just left the booking. In the end the refurb was postponed, and our booking went ahead.
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It seems the club is doing a lot of refurbishments/upgrades over the winter period? It does makes one wonder where they are getting the contractors from ? as much of the work needs carrying out by the companies that specialise in the work required
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It's not as if they can't.
I have just looked on line for details of a cl I wanted to book. Right across the introduction it says,
Note: This site will not be taking bookings for 2021 until further notice.
That's obviously an instruction to the club from the cl to notify the members and they've acted on it so why can't they keep the membership informed about their own sites
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Looks like planning for Redevelopment at Clumber is going through now, there is a report in the Worksop Guardian & this from the club in June;
https://docs.planning.org.uk/20210802/171/QW50MECSMOL00/azzdk6ytqdvpvpds.pdf
We are on the site at the moment, it's one of our favourites but have to admit the Toilet Blocks, although clean, are really starting to show their age.
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From the article I found on the online version of the Worksop Guardian, the CC don’t seem to have discussed it with the National Trust. A bit of an omission to say the least.
The planning application submitted by The Caravan and Motorhome Club includes the demolition and rebuilding of two toilet blocks, additional pitches, a new play area and a new site manager accommodation unit at the site in Lime Tree Avenue, Clumber Park.
The plans were submitted to Bassetlaw District Council on July 12 and a decision is expected by September 8.
A letter objecting to the plans has been received from the National Trust.
Clumber Park is part of the National Trust and is a beautiful expanse of parkland, heath and woods which cover more than 3,800 acres.
The letter states: “The Caravan Club site has been an established feature within Clumber Park for several decades.
“While there have in the past been conversations about improvements to the site, the management of the Caravan Club has not yet engaged with Clumber Park’s General Manager or Estate Manager about this current detailed proposal.
"Unfortunately, although it appears that a notice may have been sent to National Trust’s head office, the local team has only very recently become aware of this planning application. National Trust will therefore require further time to consider these plans in order to discuss them with our Tenant.
“In the meantime, we recommend that it may be prudent for the processing of this planning application to be suspended, or for the application to be withdrawn, pending any agreement between the Tenant and Landlord. Otherwise there is a risk that plans approved by the Council will not be approved by the National Trust, or vice versa.”
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Reading between the lines there, the NT would rather that there wasn't a caravan site there at all.
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I wonder how long the Club's tenancy agreement with NT is in place for and what it stipulates as far as changes that can be made to the site by the club. Very remiss of them not to inform the local NT management. Could this result in the NT closing down the site on the grounds that the club have not followed the tenancy agreement?
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As you say it very much depends on the lease agreement. It's difficult to imagine the Club would go ahead with an expensive planning application if they were not sure of their rights? If the conditions of the lease is that the Club lease the land to provide a campsite with certain provisions like toilet blocks and staff accommodation at their expense do they actually have to involve the NT if those terms are not broken. It would seem unusual that the Club did not "copy in" the Trust. Having said that the NT have been known to throw their weight around in the past which has worked against the general interest. I think we also need to be mindful the being such a prestigious organisation, press and opinion are likely to side with the NT rather than the Club regardless of whether they are right?
David
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Correct, pd, Ilam closed in 2017.
From their web site....The caravan site at Ilam Park closed permanently on 29th October 2017.
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Clumber Park is our local NT property, so we visit it quite a lot. Had a gap for a while, but visited the Walled Garden a couple of weeks ago. In a nutshell, not quite sure what is going on at Clumber at the moment, but it’s not the nice place to visit it was. Lots more restrictions on where you can and cannot go, routes around Estate are not as good, cafe closed early, difficult access into Walled Gardens now for anyone with mobility issues, and we spoke to some less than happy volunteers. I think there’s a new broom in charge, intent on shaking things up, and not for the best interests of visitors. They seem very intent on making sure visitors keep close to the visitor centre and shop area. Who knows what their thoughts are on Club Site.
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