Aires in the UK
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t will never be enough for some David. £6 or £7 all day parking by the sea and ignore restrictions. or pay to park for 4 hours at £5/£7 and later pay £15 to £25 for a site for sleeping because overnight camping not allowed on the car park.
Lets be clear here, the LC's are not trying to ban MH's/camper vans, in fact in some areas parking is free with no height barriers, but these spaces are sometimes abused by MH owners, e.g. park in one put your chairs out in another, what is not allowed is overnight habitation, this used to be ok, but unfortunately the minority spoilt it for the majority, e.g. rubbish left, broken public toilets, late night parties. But i have to say you do not have to be a MH owner to contribute to most of this in our new covid era.
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In spite of the name change, the Club is still stuck in a rut and in reality still thinks its future lies in providing long stay facilties which are just not required by the motorhome owner.
When we had a caravan we used to generally spend a week on a site. Now with a MH we tend to spend 2 / 4 days before moving on. Fortunately the CAMC permit any length of stay up to the 21 day limit. The prices may not be those of traditional Aires and arrival times are controlled, but there is nothing to preventing MH owners using them in a similar manner if they want.
Personally I think if someone did set up a campingcarpark style set up, as we used in France, prices would be near the £20 a night mark rather than the 12€ of over there.
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At this time there is no evidence ,that what ever any council or clubs do to "accommodate" the increase in motor caravan ownership,in the way some want , will stop the problems caused by some owners / leasers,
As posted earlier the cc have increased membership by over 3000 since lockdown eased, JK may? have had the inormation from the club of the breakdown of type of LVs the latest members , although i do understand that most dealers have about run out of stocks of pre owned LVs
The latest very vocal NC500 route residents seem to follow that to be the case
I am supprised if the same (although not yet as popular ) is not starting about the route around Snowdonia that the Wales tourist board is promoting
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I believe it's a one off, run by the local authority rather than part of a chain. I can't see a commercial organisation setting up and running 200 odd sites spread over the country for that price. Also don't know what it has in the way of facilities. The campingcarpark ones, have water/waste, often 6 amp electric and wifi, barrier control and the ability to book if required.
Several of the free or very cheap Aires in France, previously local authority run, are now looked after by campingcarpark on a commercial basis. If folk want Aires, I see it as the way forward. Just don't expect it to be an ultra cheap option.
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Why should the name change have made any difference PD? Motorhomes and campervans used the sites before the change and as a marketing ploy the name was changed to acknowledge this. Why they changed the logo to a walls ice cream inspired one I have simply no idea.
As for long stay facilities I am not sure what you mean as you can stay one night or up to 21 nights. Do you mean EHU and showers, clothes wash etc? .
Or is it the old chestnut of wanting a special area and cheaper prices?
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Not quite correct PD. Charging period is midnight to midnight and so if you stay just overnight it is £7 normally.
Presently 50p midnight to midnight and no P&R busses but bus stop nearby. Looks like you are paying for a parking space and the P& R bus in normal times. Facilities look like a waste water drain only. Parking cheek by jowl.
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I would prefer something like this.😀 Water, waste, 6amp electric and Wifi. 12€ there, perhaps £20 here with our land prices.
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BBC Wales reporting that Authorities in Pembrokeshire are clamping down on wildcamping of campers and motorhomes in carparks, laybys and verges throughout tourist areas of the county. Early morning patrols starting around 5.00 am are taking place and fixed penalty notices of £70 issued.These are prompted by the dumping of rubbish including toilet waste. Some of the images show many expensive motorhomes including large tag axle ones parked up. This is not an anti motorhome post but purely to warn those who consider wildcamping that they may get an early morning shock.
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Good, those who break the rules should take the consequences. They spoil it for the rest of us.
Im always surprised by the number of folks driving around in £60k + motorhomes with all the toys who want to break the rules to save £15 per night.
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I saw it described on a MH web site for finding stopping places where those using a stopping place give details of the facilities.
This this type of space is quite common on or outside some ordinary sites abroad, just about enough room to get the door open!
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One of the things i cannot understand,is how they are allowed to be "pitched so close to each other when doing overnight? stops ,and would i expect useing gas for heating and cooking ,when if the was one of the clubs or a commercial site would not legally? be allowed to be that close
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This this type of space is quite common on or outside some ordinary sites abroad, just about enough room to get the door open!
Even on the one we used in a car park we were not as close as those in the aerial shot. Personally although I would use something like that for parking, I wouldn't be interested in using it overnight, except in an emergency. I like the concept of Aires but not being able to shake your neighbours hand out of the window. I agree with JVB, how is it legal?
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Same thing could be happening in Minehead soon!
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No idea about legality In UK, they must realise that people use the spaces overnight? Or are they not supposed to be sleeping?
Abroad, different countries, different rules. We were on a site in Ypres that had MH pitches where you could just open the door, and in Switzerland outfits only need to be 50cm apart. And from what we have seen on sites in Germany and Austria, it must be pretty much the same! Sweden too. Nobody seems to bother much how close outfits are over most of Europe.
Only place we have seen spacing instructions was on a site in Belgium.
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I was meaning legal here in U.K. Perhaps the authorities just turn a blind eye. Which will be fine until there is an incident, then it will hit the fan.
I realise other countries means other rules. The Aires we stopped on in France were great. I think if our first Aire was of the type you described, it would have put us off the concept entirely.
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Just caught a snippet of an interview on the Scottish news, presumably about the same problem on the NC500 and in the National Parks up here. It sounded like some people are starting to see sense, realising that if you want the tourists you need the infrastructure, calling for more amenities, especially toilets.
The lack of provision of public toilets at popular locations all over Scotland, probably all over UK, is really bad. And where there are toilets, dump facilities and water could be made available too.
I would not say that public toilet provision in the rest of Europe, outside of towns, is that great either, but the provision of facilities for dumping waste and taking on water is much better.
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The fact that many owners are not taking the chance to cross the channel this year is bringing the problem of the lack of facilities to a head in many areas. The local authorities need to make up there mind whether they want the tourist pound or do they really want to drive them away to tour else where.
Spacing is not really an issue for me if you are only night stopping after all it is only really parking rather than camping.
peedee
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The lack of provision of public toilets at popular locations all over Scotland, probably all over UK, is really bad. And where there are toilets, dump facilities and water could be made available too.
I would say that in our area Lee-on-the-Solent they are pretty darned good and kept clean as best they can be with an army of people who empty bins and pick up litter, of course somebody has to pay for this ME,
The fact that many owners are not taking the chance to cross the channel this year is bringing the problem of the lack of facilities to a head in many areas. The local authorities need to make up there mind whether they want the tourist pound or do they really want to drive them away to tour else where
Sorry Peedee, we dont need MH's/camper vans , particularly as many come stacked to the rafters with food and booze, so spend precious little in the local shops, and i can guarantee all our car parks will be full on any bright and sunny day with your average car, except the 8 or so bays the council went to great lengths to build especially for MH's, well they are pay and display whereas you can park for free on the grass verge
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The local authorities need to make up there mind whether they want the tourist pound or do they really want to drive them away to tour else where.
The local Authorities do get the tourist pound. They may miss out on the minority of visitors who use a campervan or similar and don't want to pay for a site. A small minority of the tourist pounds.
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I would say that in our area Lee-on-the-Solent they are pretty darned good and kept clean as best they can be with an army of people who empty bins and pick up litter, of course somebody has to pay for this ME,
Hardly typical though. Public toilets have been decimated in recent years as local authorities have struggled to balance the budget. In Cornwall a vastly reduced number of public toilets only survive via a combination of charging delegated to the parish council and community volunteers. The local authority would happily see them all closed. The mindset is definitely not ‘what can we do to assist motorhomers’, seeing that as a function of the commercial sector.
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I was not thinking primarily about MHs when talking about toilets, we all need public toilets on a day out.
Years back, we always took a picnic lunch, these days we hardly ever do as if we do not "eat in" then finding a toilet is almost impossible.
And when travelling in more remote areas, many of the few toilets in small towns close at something like 6pm.
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