Campaign for Real Aires - CAMpRA

toasty said:
Anyone in this facebook group? A UK site trying to get some aires here. I am pessimistic about achieving the aim but can't fault their enthusiasm, so I've recently joined and thought I would spread the word.
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Just joined the CAMras group, now pending...
 
Tried googling CAMpRA to join using copied title but no joy. Has anyone got a link, please?
 
Thanks but I do not engage with facebook. I don't trust it/them. Heard too many dodgy stories.
 
Going to France on Thursday, for a couple of months, before heading to Scotland in September. Hopefully we will have a better understanding of what’s happening here by then 🤔
 
Joined Campra yesterday. I sent a letter of thanks to the Arran tourist office for making the island so camper friendly last year. Free chemical waste etc. Wondered whether a pro forma letter to councils like this worth while.....as well as suggesting positive action on aires.
 
Emmmy said:
Joined Campra yesterday. I sent a letter of thanks to the Arran tourist office for making the island so camper friendly last year. Free chemical waste etc. Wondered whether a pro forma letter to councils like this worth while.....as well as suggesting positive action on aires.
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Arran on the whole is friendly towards us.
They also looked into putting in a third chemical waste point in Lochranza, but could not get access to proper sewage near the toilet.
It’s great what you did, but much of the credit is also due to local communities on Arran who took over the toilets on the island. In Sannox new toilets were installed in 2018.
Yet sadly some idiots have disposed of chemical waste in the public toilets near the beach carpark in Brodick, even though there are signs asking not to, and informing us were the chemical waste points are.
 
Fisherman said:
Helen that’s great that you contributed to the local economy, we to try to do our bit on that front when out in the van.
But I reckon we seriously have to look at this situation.
Its almost from a position of guilt that we do so, we have been made to feel that we are burdens on local economies, and somehow have to justify ourselves as being economically viable. But look at the 500,000 who visited Bournemouth, what did they offer the local economy. Well they created pandemonium blocking roads, making it difficult for local businesses to operate, and emergency services to go about their business. They left several tonnes of litter for local services to clear up, and they probably infected some locals with Covid 19. There were apparently no toilet facilities available so its impossible that human waste was not also an issue.
How many times have I seen car parks full of day trippers who venture no further than the beach, St. Andrews is a prime example. The fact that they are a burden on local communities being ignored. Yet folk love to tell us that we who make up 0.5% of road traffic are no more than a bunch of freeloaders. The fact is we may not spend nearly as much as folk staying in hotels, and B&Bs, but we probably spend more than your average car driver, and we tend to take more interest in were we visit. We have forked out thousands in VAT, Fuel duty, road tax, insurance, and maintenance, we have put billions into the uk economy long before we parked up for the night.


All the best to this FB group, but they have a difficult task on their hands. And no doubt they will find that resistance to their campaign will not only come from outside the wild camping fraternity, but also sadly from within.
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If they succeed in getting more Aires, and people to use them their hopefully will be less pressure on those nice quiet remote spots that we all like.
 
Thanks to all those folks joining up for CAMpRA. The size of a movement, it’s number of members, is particularly important when it comes to presence and credibility on the internet, even if only a proportion of them are actively doing anything. If you want to do something, great just join. If you only want to cheer and show support, just join.

Do bear with them for a little while. Membership is mushrooming. There’s a lot of chat, ideas, suggestions...the usual forum stuff on the main group page. The leadership team is working it’s socks off in a separate group to put together strategy, clear objectives and targets before everyone starts running round like headless chickens, but everyone is a volunteer, there’s a lot to do, and it inevitably takes time.

Soon specific tasks will be identified for a larger number of member volunteers to form sub-groups to take on special tasks and hopefully then the momentum can develop.

One thing about this group is that it is entirely focussed on one thing...the promotion of all types of Aires and service points in the UK for motorhomes, not a subgroup of something else, just one purpose.
 
I approached the four major supermarket chains about fours years ago re the posibility of setting up Aires at certain sites. I suggested they could team up with local tourist boards, ferry companies, chambers of commerce & local councils etc. I got one reply, from Tesco, saying thanks but no thanks. It wasn't just a why don't you do this letter. I set out number of owners, expenditure of said owner, input to the local economy etc but all to no avail. I wasn't suggesting one in every town but a trial on some of the major tourist spots, ferry ports & the like. Hotels & b&b's may not want us but we're not going to use them anyway so we're no threat. With the economy going down the toilet our money might be a little more welcome in the near future, we have the added bonus of being self isolating & having been social distancing, so are of little threat. Still I've put my support behind CAMPrA, so let's hope they get a result.
 
barge1914 said:
Thanks to all those folks joining up for CAMpRA. The size of a movement, it’s number of members, is particularly important when it comes to presence and credibility on the internet, even if only a proportion of them are actively doing anything. If you want to do something, great just join. If you only want to cheer and show support, just join.

Do bear with them for a little while. Membership is mushrooming. There’s a lot of chat, ideas, suggestions...the usual forum stuff on the main group page. The leadership team is working it’s socks off in a separate group to put together strategy, clear objectives and targets before everyone starts running round like headless chickens, but everyone is a volunteer, there’s a lot to do, and it inevitably takes time.

Soon specific tasks will be identified for a larger number of member volunteers to form sub-groups to take on special tasks and hopefully then the momentum can develop.

One thing about this group is that it is entirely focussed on one thing...the promotion of all types of Aires and service points in the UK for motorhomes, not a subgroup of something else, just one purpose.
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And I should have mentioned for those who regard Facebook as sipping with the Devil...before too long when the website is up and running it should be possible to join up on line without a long spoon.
 
Emmmy said:
Joined Campra yesterday. I sent a letter of thanks to the Arran tourist office for making the island so camper friendly last year. Free chemical waste etc. Wondered whether a pro forma letter to councils like this worth while.....as well as suggesting positive action on aires.
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The CAMpRA leadership team are looking at producing pro formas which can be used by members, with adjustments for local circumstances. If you look in the files section at the top of the facebook page you will see letters that have already been posted. If you have done one of your own the leadership team would be interested in having a copy. If you don't want to post it on the main forum send it to me here as a private message. Thanks. Meg Macdonald
 
Picket said:
I approached the four major supermarket chains about fours years ago re the posibility of setting up Aires at certain sites. I suggested they could team up with local tourist boards, ferry companies, chambers of commerce & local councils etc. I got one reply, from Tesco, saying thanks but no thanks. It wasn't just a why don't you do this letter. I set out number of owners, expenditure of said owner, input to the local economy etc but all to no avail. I wasn't suggesting one in every town but a trial on some of the major tourist spots, ferry ports & the like. Hotels & b&b's may not want us but we're not going to use them anyway so we're no threat. With the economy going down the toilet our money might be a little more welcome in the near future, we have the added bonus of being self isolating & having been social distancing, so are of little threat. Still I've put my support behind CAMPrA, so let's hope they get a result.
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Things have changed since four years ago and new approaches are needed. It might be worth speaking to local management at a supermarket near you that seems, to you, to be a suitable target. Pincer movement to local and national management might get us to the right person! Meg
 
Biggarmac said:
Things have changed since four years ago and new approaches are needed. It might be worth speaking to local management at a supermarket near you that seems, to you, to be a suitable target. Pincer movement to local and national management might get us to the right person! Meg
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Might also be worth targetting those supermarket chains who have a continental link where the French equivalent allows overnight parking, eg Tesco and Carrefour .
 
Carrerasax said:
It would be interesting to know what Lidl’s & Aldi get from Motorhomers as they are often in best locations with appropriate parking!!!
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They seem to be busy with motorhomers all over Europe. They do cater better for us than conventional supermarkets, however they seem to all be time limited parking round here; so not likely to welcome overnighting.
 
Biggarmac said:
They seem to be busy with motorhomers all over Europe. They do cater better for us than conventional supermarkets, however they seem to all be time limited parking round here; so not likely to welcome overnighting.
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A lot of the time they don’t actually own the car parks often belong to a local authority or landlord of the site
 
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