Are councils finally getting it?

alcam said:
If it helps the argument , as it does , I'm sure we can live with it . Interesting , as a comparison , to see analysis of other modes of tourism
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Of course I can live with it, and I applaud Fife Council for what they have done.
But the question remains why are we alone expected to support local areas we visit.
No other group are burdened with this, whilst receiving unfavourable coverage from all sections of the media, local politicians, and some locals.

Fife council made efforts to attempt to identify different types of vans, their requirements, and the benefits they offer.
And there have been problems both in the past and currently within the region involving us, through over occupancy.
I wrote to them in the summer thanking them for their efforts, and attempted to explain what went wrong at Elie, and Kingsbarns.
It was the perfect storm, end of covid, good weather, and many of us wishing to see the new set up with overnight stop over places.
I got a reply stating that Fife Council valued our community and had no intention of bringing down the barriers.
However they did indicate that they continued to monitor what was going on.

 
I suppose you could argue that nobody whether in a motorhome, car or on foot owes anyone a living in the places we visit. The countryside, towns and villages belong to us all. I live in a tourist area and if people want to come to Barnard Castle or Richmond for the day and bring a packed lunch and spend nothing I have no problem with that. Some will spend some won't but I don't hear calls from angry locals to ban day trippers with a picnic.

It should also be remembered that a lot of us tour for months on end. You can't really do that without spending something and it mounts up. Well north of £1000 a month I find here. A bit less in Europe.
 
Fisherman said:
Of course I can live with it, and I applaud Fife Council for what they have done.
But the question remains why are we alone expected to support local areas we visit.
No other group are burdened with this, whilst receiving unfavourable coverage from all sections of the media, local politicians, and some locals.

Fife council made efforts to attempt to identify different types of vans, their requirements, and the benefits they offer.
And there have been problems both in the past and currently within the region involving us, through over occupancy.
I wrote to them in the summer thanking them for their efforts, and attempted to explain what went wrong at Elie, and Kingsbarns.
It was the perfect storm, end of covid, good weather, and many of us wishing to see the new set up with overnight stop over places.
I got a reply stating that Fife Council valued our community and had no intention of bringing down the barriers.
However they did indicate that they continued to monitor what was going on.

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I note they keep referring it to freedom camping when in fact I see it as resting from a long drive, rule 91 h way code, I may require a few naps to be sure.
rule 91.png
 
alcam said:
If it helps the argument , as it does , I'm sure we can live with it . Interesting , as a comparison , to see analysis of other modes of tourism
Click to expand...

Not sure if you've seen the attached.

Motorhomes and Wildcamping. I'm fairly certain I published it when the council sent it to me but it's worth keeping a library of such documents. Some will remember that I was in touch with the Highlands Council - about Dornoch - not all that long ago and it was for that reason that I was sent it.
 

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  • 5._Motorhomes_and_Wild_Camping.pdf
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Fisherman said:
Of course I can live with it, and I applaud Fife Council for what they have done.
But the question remains why are we alone expected to support local areas we visit.
No other group are burdened with this, whilst receiving unfavourable coverage from all sections of the media, local politicians, and some locals.

Fife council made efforts to attempt to identify different types of vans, their requirements, and the benefits they offer.
And there have been problems both in the past and currently within the region involving us, through over occupancy.
I wrote to them in the summer thanking them for their efforts, and attempted to explain what went wrong at Elie, and Kingsbarns.
It was the perfect storm, end of covid, good weather, and many of us wishing to see the new set up with overnight stop over places.
I got a reply stating that Fife Council valued our community and had no intention of bringing down the barriers.
However they did indicate that they continued to monitor what was going on.

Click to expand...
Don't see it as a burden more a confirmation of our value to businesses
There are loads of surveys done analysing visitors spending patterns , value to local economy etc .
When I do , occasionally , stay on campsites I'm always amazed at the amount of people who appear to spend the whole day there . Same applies to hotels
Lots more ammo for us
 
alcam said:
Don't see it as a burden more a confirmation of our value to businesses
There are loads of surveys done analysing visitors spending patterns , value to local economy etc .
When I do , occasionally , stay on campsites I'm always amazed at the amount of people who appear to spend the whole day there . Same applies to hotels
Lots more ammo for us
Click to expand...
Did you see the thread on Lochore were a councillor based most of his biased bigoted assertions on that very basis.
Personally I don't feel burdened, but as a group we alone are burdened with some responsibility to spend locally.
No other group are assessed the way we are, its not us that have created this burden, its folk who seek to justify and back up their narrow minded
il informed attitudes towards us. Even Fife council who have been excellent are looking for some return from us, they don't seek quite the same return from anyone else, and don't facilitate the requirements of others on that same basis.
 
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Fisherman said:
Did you see the thread on Lochore were a councillor based most of his biased bigoted assertions on that very basis.
Personally I don't feel burdened, but as a group we alone are burdened with some responsibility to spend locally.
No other group are assessed the way we are, its not us that have created this burden, its folk who seek to justify and back up their narrow minded
il informed attitudes towards us. Even Fife council who have been excellent are looking for some return from us, they don't seek quite the same return from anyone else, and don't facilitate the requirements of others on that same basis.
Click to expand...
In general we are a mystery to most people . They seem to think we must get up to all sorts of things in our vans ! Probably correctly in some cases .
But , as I said , this kind of analysis is done all the time . Our mode of travel and accomodation will , maybe understandably , appear to be a total freebie to the untrained eye . So , on reflection , it could be our spending patterns being assessed is a good thing
[forget about Lochore Dick , nowt you can do about somebody like that]
 
alcam said:
In general we are a mystery to most people . They seem to think we must get up to all sorts of things in our vans ! Probably correctly in some cases .
But , as I said , this kind of analysis is done all the time . Our mode of travel and accomodation will , maybe understandably , appear to be a total freebie to the untrained eye . So , on reflection , it could be our spending patterns being assessed is a good thing
[forget about Lochore Dick , nowt you can do about somebody like that]
Click to expand...
I know where you are coming from, and yes I agree that if these types of reports enlighten the great unwashed, then that’s a good thing. But my point is why are we alone only catered for if we are commercially viable. Many other groups are catered for without such a requirement.
Also whilst I found the actions of Tom Kinnaird at Lochore appalling, he did highlight what many of us suspected for years, that many in local politics are no more intelligent than your average chimp. I think it’s important not to forget about him, but to remind us what we are up against. But thankfully we are in total agreement about one thing, he’s a dick.
Oh and apologies to all Chimps.:)
 
We face a unique problem regarding public perception in that we are visible (unless in a 'stealth' van) and so get blamed for much of what is perceived as tourism-related wrongdoing no matter who actually performs those misdeeds and hence have become a target on which to focus their ire. Unlike other tourists, we are a "problem" that's relatively easy to banish -- and so authorities can appear to do something without actually addressing the real issue. It also doesn't help that the population in general has been goaded into "us-vs-them" tribalism.
I agree that we shouldn't forget about Lochore TK -- Cipolla's "Five Basic Laws Of Human Stupidity" helps explain why.
 
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