Another one bits the dust
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both sites there Bridlington and West Ayton are popular, rightly so as you can go inland into Yorkshire as well so maybe there are enough campers to fill another site?
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I think Fisherman does raise an interesting point. Morris Leisure seem to be opening campsites at fairly regular intervals albeit within a fairly confined geographic area but nonetheless new sites, has the CLub opened as many in the same period?
The problem for the Club is that many of their current sites are held on leasehold and when that lease expires or comes up for renewal is when the problems start to arise. Whilst the leaseholders are often willing to carry on for a while the lease is then fairly short which prevents any improvements and sometimes leads to the Club losing the site. Braithwaite Fold is an example. I suspect the are at least a couple of dozen Club sites that could be vulnerable.
Most people understand that Chrystal Palace has been under threat for years so it should not be a surprise. Baltic Wharf is only continuing on a hand to mouth basis. How would members feel if the Club spent several million pounds buying the freehold if that was possible regardless whether it made economic sense or not?
David
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Alongside the lease issue, I wonder if the Emissions charges make London a less desirable option for holidays with a caravan or MH? Put a wheel inside the M25 and you holiday costs in some instances are more expensive.
Its not uncommon for the Club to have a couple of sites in close proximity, Incleborough Fields and Cromer Sites are very close, and only a few miles seperate Godrevy and Marazion. However, whilst close together, the facilities and sites are rather different. Same with Yorkshire Club Sites, whilst there are quite a few, they are all very different, serve a population close by greater than that of the whole of Scotland, and tourism in Yorkshire as a whole is absolutely booming.
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at the risk or agreeing with you again, I like the Yorkshire sites, one day beach or coast, then inland to the moors - the towns & villages, steam railway or even York itself. Each of the seaside towns are different my peronal favourite is Filey.
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Its a big diverse county, lucky to be blessed with some lovely countryside, great coastline, a wealth of historic sites and places to visit, and some thriving towns and cities. You can either choose somewhere remote and peaceful, or bustling and busy! Gary Verity and his wonderful team do a fabulous job of selling the county, and the events and cultural scene are thriving.
I am a bit biased I must admit, but I love Northumberland and Cornwall as well.
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Alongside the lease issue, I wonder if the Emissions charges make London a less desirable option for holidays with a caravan or MH? Put a wheel inside the M25 and you holiday costs in some instances are more expensive.
London sites seem to be very popular. When we were last at Abbey Wood it was full and people were being turned away. I accept the prospect of finding another site near to Central London is probably an impossible task. Currently you can avoid the congestion charge but it is the LEZ zone which is troublesome for older motorhomes. The Club does have several sites further out but within easy travelling distance of London as does the other Club. The real issue is lack of easy public transport to get you to the station if you own a motorhome, the exception perhaps is Welwyn. We can get from home in MK to Central London probably quicker than we could from Abbey Wood but its not quite the same.
David
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We usually go to London once a year normally staying at Abbey Wood. Because of the interminable rail engineering works and bus substitutions We now drive upto Greenwich, Park up and get the river bus into central London. Unlike most posters on this thread we have also stayed on the site newly acquired by the Club (good location with lovely beach nearby but needs investment) as well as the ‘other’ clubs Scarborough site. And even less like other posters my consultancy involves me in finding development sites for various end users and if anyone thinks it is easy they havent a clue. It can sometimes take upto 10-12 years to get a deliverable site with an acceptable planning permission for some schemes. And all that assumes that land suitable for a caravan site isn’t worth more as a retail/Office/Housing development. I am not a great fan of the Club management BUT when it comes to sites they are up against constraints largely outside their control.
If it so easy to find, buy and invest in new sites then I suggest the critics of the club set up their own site business and teach the club how to do it, and make money along the way.
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Personally I would like to see club sites open in Essex and the periphery of London but realistically due to commercial considerations (price of land) that's not likely to happen any time soon. Obviously the further away from the capital the cheaper land prices become, then there is planning, but thats another story. Again I have no desire to visit the new club site, or others in Yorkshire, but no doubt there will be plenty of others that do.
PS hadn't read flatcoats post above before I posted
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Oooh, I know nothing
JK
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I understand why the site at Crystal Palace is going. The lease is up and the leaseholders say OUT. Not much you can do. Could they find anther site in London? No chance. They would have to buy an existing one and I bet the land is leased. Whether or not individual CT members want to go to London is fairly irrelevant. Whenever we've used a London site (about once every 3 years or so) it has always seemed well occupied and I would guess that the occupancy rates here are high, so a few members saying they don't want to go isn't going to sway things.
What I would like to know is if it is so hard to find sites, have planning permission gained etc. etc. why oh why did the club give up on the site in Bowness on Windermere. A site slap bang in the middle of one of the main tourist areas in the UK, perfect for almost all club members with accessible transport and beauty spots on your doorstep. It wasn't due to the landlord kicking them out or the council wanting to rid itself of a campsite. It couldn't be because look who took it over! The CCC, that's who. How did that happen? How did the people who run this club let that happen? They like to let everyone know that they are the biggest club in Europe and they get sand kicked in their face. There is a thread running about someone looking for a site in the middle of the Lake District not encumbered by trees. This one has been recommend. Makes you laugh.
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Thanks for the clarification DK, I know little about the emission zones or sites outside London and the transport systems to get in, it was very much a guess question.
London to me is a place ok for the odd visit, see something special, so we would never think of taking tourer down there, we are so close to East Coast/Cross Country mainline it is far more relaxing just to hop onto a train down to either St Pancras or Kings Cross, and do what we want from there.
Any site gone from network will upset someone, depends on what you want to see and do, where you live.From a personal perspective, I will miss Much Wenlock far more than Crystal Palace.
The Hadrian's Wall area is a bit of a Club black hole, back in the 1980's we used to use the Trax site up at Hexham Racecourse, and unless I am mistaken, didn't the Club have Fallowfield Dene as an AS site? Could be wrong though?
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What happened to Nunnykirk? That's reasonably close to Hadrian's Wall
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What I would like to know is if it is so hard to find sites, have planning permission gained etc. etc. why oh why did the club give up on the site in Bowness on Windermere.
The story on this forum was that it was due to negotiations with regard to CC believing that the facilities block needed great improvement and presumably wishing to factor that into the lease negotiations.
I was there the previous tear and I was happy with the facilities despite them being not dated as they were clean and serviceable and it is not a big site. I am booked there this year with CCC for 5 nights and this site is one of the main reasons why I joined the other club.
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Nunnykirk only has a short season, shorter still if the weather is wet, but a lovely site. We use a nice CL at Gilsland now, smack bang on Hadrian's Wall.
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