English Aires

[Tbear]

What are your top few reasons that your local council should provide a local Aire? I intend to present them to my local council I hope you don't mind me pinching your ideas and adding them to my own, if you do then don't post them here.
To get things going;-
1, Motorhomers can then get rid of waste responseable
2, Attracts custom to local businesses ie, food and fuel.
3, Income for council from car parks at night which are otherwise are unused.
4, Reduce antisocial behavior in car parks at night in that they are occupied by responseable people.

 

[RG1]

Sounds good, I would not put "motorhomes can get rid of their waste responsibly" As it sounds as if we are a unresponsible lot that dump our waste anywhere we see fit.

I cannot see why we can not overnight anywhere in the UK in council carparks, there is a genuine income for the local council, something like £2-3 between 8pm and 8pm would be ideal in my opinion.

 

[Tbear]

Sounds good, I would not put "motorhomes can get rid of their waste responsibly" As it sounds as if we are a unresponsible lot that dump our waste anywhere we see fit.

I cannot see why we can not overnight anywhere in the UK in council carparks, there is a genuine income for the local council, something like £2-3 between 8pm and 8pm would be ideal in my opinion.

We have had problems with people not being very responsible and the cost of not a very nice job is huge

 

[Guest]

What are your top few reasons that your local council should provide a local Aire? I intend to present them to my local council I hope you don't mind me pinching your ideas and adding them to my own, if you do then don't post them here.
To get things going;-
1, Motorhomers can then get rid of waste responseable
2, Attracts custom to local businesses ie, food and fuel.
3, Income for council from car parks at night which are otherwise are unused.
4, Reduce antisocial behavior in car parks at night in that they are occupied by responseable people.

Hi Tbear, you seem to have it pretty well covered. One small point, I would promote the advantages to the council and the local businesses first and more and the advantages for us motorhomers last.
Make them think they have more to gain than us, which possibly is the case in these restricted financial times.

Maybe some of the towns are twinned with French towns that offer Aire's and they could ask the French

 

[Tbear]

*****,

Good point, My first letter to the council had too lists, first advantages, second dissadvantages but I dont need help with the second, Cost was enough!

 

[maureenandtom]

There is a remarkable document which was produced by The Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia”. It's called “The Sustainable Development of the Motorhome and Self Contained Vehicle
(MSV) Niche Market” dated 25th July 2005. I can't find it on the internet this afternoon but you may find it by googling. However, I have a PDF copy of the document (size 446 Kb) and if you can devise a way of me getting it to you then you are welcome to it.

Also, when I too was approaching councils, I produced a small pamphlet also as a PDF document (size 671 Kb) and you're welcome to that too.

There is an Italian document (in English) called Press Release N° 8 MONDO NATURA OPENS:THE MOTORHOME OWNER’S IDENTIKIT AND NEW CAMPERSTYLE I've got that as a PDF file too (size 72 Kb)

There's a New Zealand newspaper article called “The Grey Nomads” from “The Dominion Post” on 2 May 2009. This is the website address http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/features/2379969/The-grey... but I've just tried it without success. I have this as a PDF file too (79 Kb).

Any or all of these I am willing to send you. Do you know how can I do that? I can send by email as attachments but I'm a free member and I don't know how to get around that.

All of them, except perhaps for my own pamphlet, will be very useful to anyone wanting to approach local authorities. The Australian paper in particular assesses the cash value to Australia of free-campers. The Italian paper assesses the value of providing Aires by municipalities. The New Zealand press article is very much a praise of our lifestyle. My own effort does not match the professionals but it is my own.

Canalsman, if you're reading this – you might have my email address, you did have it once. Would you be willing to act as a third party? You might be interested in this stuff yourself, yes?

 

[Tbear]

There is a remarkable document which was produced by The Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia”. It's called “The Sustainable Development of the Motorhome and Self Contained Vehicle
(MSV) Niche Market” dated 25th July 2005. I can't find it on the internet this afternoon but you may find it by googling. However, I have a PDF copy of the document (size 446 Kb) and if you can devise a way of me getting it to you then you are welcome to it.

Also, when I too was approaching councils, I produced a small pamphlet also as a PDF document (size 671 Kb) and you're welcome to that too.

There is an Italian document (in English) called Press Release N° 8 MONDO NATURA OPENS:THE MOTORHOME OWNER’S IDENTIKIT AND NEW CAMPERSTYLE I've got that as a PDF file too (size 72 Kb)

There's a New Zealand newspaper article called “The Grey Nomads” from “The Dominion Post” on 2 May 2009. This is the website address http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/features/2379969/The-grey... but I've just tried it without success. I have this as a PDF file too (79 Kb).

Any or all of these I am willing to send you. Do you know how can I do that? I can send by email as attachments but I'm a free member and I don't know how to get around that.

All of them, except perhaps for my own pamphlet, will be very useful to anyone wanting to approach local authorities. The Australian paper in particular assesses the cash value to Australia of free-campers. The Italian paper assesses the value of providing Aires by municipalities. The New Zealand press article is very much a praise of our lifestyle. My own effort does not match the professionals but it is my own.

Canalsman, if you're reading this – you might have my email address, you did have it once. Would you be willing to act as a third party? You might be interested in this stuff yourself, yes?

All will very usefull, many thanks for the email

 

[spatey]

Council Aire

What are your top few reasons that your local council should provide a local Aire? I intend to present them to my local council I hope you don't mind me pinching your ideas and adding them to my own, if you do then don't post them here.
To get things going;-
1, Motorhomers can then get rid of waste responseable
2, Attracts custom to local businesses ie, food and fuel.
3, Income for council from car parks at night which are otherwise are unused.
4, Reduce antisocial behavior in car parks at night in that they are occupied by responseable people.

Hi Tbear
I think that most of comments all state why to stay over, but I think you need to say what the council get out for their return? New tourists visiting the area, making it a popular place to stay over. Staying over with money to spend helps with local council economy. Not just travelling thru but staying over. Increase revenue for a little or small outlay. And there must be lots more, I hope other member add too, good luck and keep is all in the loop please.

 

[Basil]

rubbish collection

Many wildcampers pick up a little rubbish and leave the site cleaner than when they arrived....

 

[Tbear]

Hi Tbear
I think that most of comments all state why to stay over, but I think you need to say what the council get out for their return? New tourists visiting the area, making it a popular place to stay over. Staying over with money to spend helps with local council economy. Not just travelling thru but staying over. Increase revenue for a little or small outlay. And there must be lots more, I hope other member add too, good luck and keep is all in the loop please.

Hi Spatey
You make a good point but I fear the cost may not be small which is why I need lots of good reasons. They need direct returns ie, site fees, water charges, electric fees, with lots of indirects such as benafits to local shops.
Richard

 

[Tbear]

Many wildcampers pick up a little rubbish and leave the site cleaner than when they arrived....

True Basil and there is less antisocial behaviour around where vans are parked so less vandalism.

 

[maureenandtom]

We do not come to local authorities with a begging bowl. We are a valuable resource who should be courted.

How big is the motorhome market? I have seen an estimate that in 2008 there were 136,000 motorhomes registered in the UK which at that time was growing at 5.1% per annum. How big is it now and why isn't MY local authority taking advantage of it?

Motorhomes are mobile. Seems obvious but this means that there is not a motorhome “season”. We need not be weekend travellers. We are older, usually, and we spread tourism throughout the week and throughout the year. We are, usually, retired. Empty nesters. We are a resource available in a stream not drip by drip. We can fill your tourist traps when they would otherwise be empty.

We are green. We have a minimal impact on the environment. Not for us the paraffin fuming jet for a week in the sun. We take our time.

We have minimal needs. We are self-contained. We need only a place to park, to replenish drinking water and dump waste. We are of an age which prides itself on independence and self-reliance. We are a huge resource which does not require a great investment to take advantage of it.

We are night watchmen. The fact of our presence overnight will have an effect on anti-social behaviour.

 

[Poco Loco]

Getting them on side

What are your top few reasons that your local council should provide a local Aire? I intend to present them to my local council I hope you don't mind me pinching your ideas and adding them to my own, if you do then don't post them here.
To get things going;-
1, Motorhomers can then get rid of waste responseable
2, Attracts custom to local businesses ie, food and fuel.
3, Income for council from car parks at night which are otherwise are unused.
4, Reduce antisocial behavior in car parks at night in that they are occupied by responseable people.

Excellent Start, May be worth hitting them with some figures, They'll like that. The sort of thing I mean is the amount of Motorhomes that are currently running around the UK, + the fact that due to new Air Travel costs and problems with air travel, it is a growing industry? It's all about potential £ signs that will make it happen. I also found this link that shows a good way of approaching potential places to consider future motorhome stop overs to win them on side. Have a look and see what you think.

Regards Poco Loco

Overnight stopovers for motorhomes in the UK

 

[Tbear]

Many thanks Poco Loco I have emailed DVLA for stats I am waiting for a reply.
Richard

 

[AndyC]

You will probably need to include a brief explanation of what a motorhome actually is. I think you'll find that most local councillors will have no idea that most European motorhomes are usually completely self contained with their own water supply, toilet and shower. Or even that they are not all 'Winnebago' sized vehicles!

AndyC

 

[David & Ann]

At Porthtowan cove there is a really nice car park with toilets. They have overhead bars that prevent anything over a small van size to park. We also have another parking area where the surfers go to park. They too have an overhead bar across. A lot of Campers come but turn around as they cannot park. The locals have aked the Council to remove them as a lot of Campers get turned away. They statement was, if they removed them then the Gipsies might move in and stay permanently. Any comments on this!!!

 

[shawbags]

Hi all,the gypsey,hippie type would be my concern if i was a councillor.What could they do to stop people taking over the council parking spot if it was aproved because somewhere down the line it would probably happen,best keep off the subject but it is worth thinking about for future reference.Keep up the good work,is there anything i could put my name to for support ,pertition ect to help,cheers Shawbags (Chris).

 

[vipper]

At Porthtowan cove there is a really nice car park with toilets. They have overhead bars that prevent anything over a small van size to park. We also have another parking area where the surfers go to park. They too have an overhead bar across. A lot of Campers come but turn around as they cannot park. The locals have aked the Council to remove them as a lot of Campers get turned away. They statement was, if they removed them then the Gipsies might move in and stay permanently. Any comments on this!!!

Europe gets around this problem without any problems - how do they do it? You see Aires for Les Gens de Voyage in France.

Those barriers are a pain in la derriere. They keep me and my money out of communities.

 

[maureenandtom]

Edited- Entered in error

 

[Tbear]

You will probably need to include a brief explanation of what a motorhome actually is. I think you'll find that most local councillors will have no idea that most European motorhomes are usually completely self contained with their own water supply, toilet and shower. Or even that they are not all 'Winnebago' sized vehicles!

AndyC

Hi AndyC
Yes we are not caravans , we need very little!
Richard