Nunnykirk club site
We have had a seasonal pitch at Nunnykirk for several years now and love it.
We've just received our September magazine with the application form for 2020 seasonal. When I looked at it with the intention of applying for next year I found Nunnykirk missing. I assumed it was possibly a printing error and phoned the club.
I was told they'd already had several calls on this topic but he could only tell me that the regional manager had decided not to allow seasonal pitches on site for next year.
To me this is a very strange decision. Nunnykirk has 75 pitches and about 30 of these are seasonal. If you remove the seasonal pitches then quite a lot of the time you will be lucky to have a dozen units on site.
The club is losing roughly £31,000 by removing the seasonal pitches. It doesn't make economic sense to me and I wonder if the club is ultimately looking to close Nunnykirk
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I've sent an email so will give it a couple of days. If I don't hear anything I will have another go.
I've been off site for a few weeks now and as soon as I found out this afternoon I tried to contact the wardens to see if I could get any more information from them. The phone was engaged everytime I tried ringing so I'm wondering if they are also getting bombarded with calls?
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Reported this thread in the hope of getting some sort of response from HO staff.
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I fear for the worst and this will be another non-facility site that closes down. Shame on the club if that is so!!
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We, too, love Nunnykirk and had actually thought of applying for a seasonal pitch there next year. We were surprised to see that it wasn't included on the booking list and, furthermore, have found that a look at the availability pages for March 2020 onwards on the club website gets the following message:
"Sorry, we are currently unable to return availability for this site for the selected date range. Please try again later."
Unfortunately, we share Nellie's fears.
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This is awful news. We love Nunnykirk, have been using it for the last 35 years or so. It’s in a great location, good for walks, some nice interesting places to visit such as Cragside and Alnwick. We used it three times last year, and I passed it on our way up here only a couple of days ago. To be honest, unless it’s the rent, I can’t understand why the Club might be looking to lose it, the wage bill can’t be that high compared with most other sites. There were certainly a good few seasonal outfits in use when we were there last year.
Time for the Club to either offer reassurance, or come clean and let members know if there are problems. We can do without losing another basic Site.
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Perhaps, just perhaps, there is a secret Caravan Club plot afoot to carry out improvement works at the site . . . . ?
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Well that good at least. I wonder if Club are going to give it a ‘big push’ for next year, as there are lots of folks using CLs more and more, and Nunnykirk is sort of a giant CL really, basic, out in the countryside, and a great price. Fingers crossed........
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We were told to virtually ignore pegs on our last night there last year. Sort of in the vicinity, but not at back of pitch so that it was easier to get MH back on to the site road. Not many folks on site, so it wasn’t an issue.
It can get a touch sticky, but it would be a shame to lose the essence of this lovely site.
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Is there not a danger people are jumping to a few conclusions here? It could just be an IT glitch or it could be something more serious outside the control of the Club. I am sure we will get a response from the Club, either positive or negative!
David
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Why haven't we had a response today, David? Just a few words from Ro to say that she was looking into it would have been a start.
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I've not been there either for a long time. It is easier for me to go Continental than north of a line between the the Wash and the Mersey!
As I remember it was a little rusitc and miles from anywhere. Nevertheless it would be a shame to lose yet another non facility site.
peedee
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It hasn’t changed ET, which is what makes it so unique and unspoilt. It isn’t full of extremely new outfits in neat rows, but is a great place to spot classic vans. I would say it has a place in a lot of Northern folks touring memories, one to keep going back to every now and then. It’s a good half way house between Hadrians Wall country, and the beautiful Northumberland Coast.
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Nellie
Perhaps because either she is waiting for a response from those that can provide the answer or that she may well have more pressing things she needs to do. I say that not as a way of making excuses but because I know a little more of the demands of her job.
David
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Nunnykirk is or was a leased site. I know many years ago, about 30+, . when we visited on a very regular bases when the lease was up for renewal it was touch and go whether it remained open presumably because of the proposed increase in the rent. The same situation may exist today.
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David, yes people are jumping to conclusions simply because of the lack of communication from the club.
Members first became aware of the issues about 16 days ago and lots of phone calls and emails have been sent and no responses have been forthcoming. The wardens are in the dark too! I made a phone call and was merely told that there were no seasonal pitches at Nunnykirk for 2020 When I asked why, the reply was that it was the regional manager who made the decision.
Anyone who knows Nunnykirk will know that the site can't operate viably without the seasonal pitches and to see them disappear from the seasonal form is bound to start rumours going.
I totally understand that there may be reasons for this, maybe negotiations over the lease/rents etc. But at the very least and as good management /communication, a letter should have been sent out to the current seasonal pitch holders just before the magazine was sent out explaining the situation instead of leaving everyone up in the air.
From what I understand, around 50% of the current seasonal pitch holders have found new sites for 2020 and a majority of those will not be renewing their membership, the feelings are running that high.
Not a good way to do business I'm afraid...
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So we have a site with no facilities that has been in established existance for many decades and is heavily occupied by the same outfits all year round and year after year but paying very little for it.
Along comes someone who offers the owner a much better rent, and then lets out pitches for static caravans at the going rate for rent. On-costs of drains, water and power cables soon recouped and money rolls afterwards.
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I thought that the club was inclusive, not just for those that want all singing all dancing sites!!
Have you got more knowledge than the warden then with regards to the site being turned over to a static site?
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Not as such Nellie - but I do know of so many that this has sadly happened to over the years.
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one line posted here by Ro (or the RM if it's got that far) saying that the matrer is noted and a full response will be posted within X days goes a long way in managing customers' expectations.
the 'black hole' technique of service delivery doesn't go down well, I'm afraid.
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There have been a few JVB, most recently Much Wenlock. Bromyard Downs and Baltic Wharf are on the endangered list I believe.
Slightlyoff topic, but related, didn’t the Club purchase an old bit of land in Bristol previously used as a Police Training ground? Did they actually purchase it, or attempt to but couldn’t get planning permission?
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Hi everyone,
The Club has delayed the decision as to whether to continue to operate the site at Nunnykirk in 2020 for a number of reasons. This is a leasehold site where the lease has expired and the Club is working year to year on a rolling agreement with the landlord. To invest in this site, the Club needs a minimum of a 20 year lease to have confidence in the investment made to ensure that the Club spends its members’ money wisely by making a return. That said, this is also a financially challenging site to operate as costs to do so are rising annually, but occupancy is not. The Club needs to ensure that not only is it making sites available for the benefit of the members but that they are also generating sufficient revenue to cover their operating costs. As a result, it has been decided that we will continue to operate this site for a further season and during this time we will work up a strategy for the longer term future for the site.
Requests for seasonal pitches have now been made and the site will also operate for touring visitors in 2020. We do hope that many of you will come and try out this non-facility site. It is in a beautiful location and offers a great selection of grass pitches.
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is there a link between it being a non facility site and declining occupancy?
Discuss
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