English Aires

[vwalan]

i think a pound a night ,maybe two .if its more then move on to a different place.
it as to be said a quid is a quid if we wild somewhere else they get nothing ,we still need water we can always get it never found it impossible . we can tip toilet waste in quiet toilets somewhere or lift a cover . if we park outside along wa from a village town then we wont spend there . sometimes easier to pull in to a super market and never visit a local shop. so two quid max. a pound to stay ,a pound to get water . that could allow you to tip grey possibly black waste as well. i remember being if france for a few months and if i bought water at an aire it was for 100 ltres 10 francs . my containers only held 30lt so i never used the bourne found a toilet with a tap . so its always easy to get water.

 

[Byronic]

Byronic

How many people work for your local council. Do you not think that some of them may have a motorhome.The chap I am dealing with has a static van which he is talking about selling and investing in a motorhome. They are not all the enemy, some may be on our side.

Richard

I don't think many would have a motorhome. Apart from asking, all you can do is estimate the percentage of motorcaravan registrations to car registrations to give a rough idea. I would hazard a guess that motorhome ownership is a small percentage.
Certainly some may be on our side, but enough to make a difference........ I'm not so sure.

 

[Tbear]

Alan,
A pound to park in the middle of nowhere is a lot. A pound to park in the middle of a city for 12 hrs, I wish you luck!!!

Byronic,

Stop being so negative. It only needs the right one to have a motorhome, maybe just his mate or her mum to have one. Somebody does win the lottery every week. If we don't then I have just wasted Alan's pound

 

[vwalan]

city ,s are the easy place to park . get there after tea time about half six you can find loads of free parking . best place ever is a city. you asked i answered . i could say i dont want to pay at all . i cant use them anyway . have used them abroad no trouble .here i never have a problem finding somewhere to park . most aires are full of pople that couldnt find a nice place unless they have their hand held.
i do hear the locals here discussing why has that dutch van parked in the car park over there . etc . we are just half a mile from the a30 . get loads of foriegn campers park up near to eden and we have the famous roche rock. but the locals hate them parking up. i get frowned upon talking to the visitors if they go to the pub . i,m told dont encourage them. they do spend a few shillings in the pub in the coop fish and chips . etc . but they arent wanted by the locals . be hard to get something going down here i have spoken toour local coucillor . but what do you get ,there is a campsite down the road tell them to go there . the locals hate visitors just want to take their money and send them out the county.

 

[Kontiki]

I have noticed a few aires in France now have a barrier, to enter you have to use your credit card (I believe that a UK one is no good ) there are limits on how long you can stay & they know because you have to use it to get out & you are then charged for the time. There was one at Ondres Plage (near Capbreton) electricity, water & emptying were included, fortunately the barrier wasn't in use when we were there as the electric hadn't yet been connected.

As long as the charges are reasonable & there are facilities the system could work here in the UK, some of the car parks here already have it where you have to enter you reg. number in the parking ticket machine so this could be a way of enforcing any time limit on the number of days you can stay.

Although when we are abroad we would go for free aires if we can we don't have a problem paying at some if the location is ok. To think they would be willing to have free aires here in the UK is probably unlikely, we should try to think of ideas to make the idea of councils setting up overnight motorhome parking more palatable.

 

[Byronic]

I'm very positive to my own point of view! Seriously' all I want in England at least is to park up anywhere I'm legally entitled to park and to sleep in my motorhome overnight without let or hindrance, and when I leave the following day it's as though I hadn't been there, and if do otherwise I deserve a £1000 fine.
You can't get more positive than that.

 

[Tbear]

city ,s are the easy place to park . get there after tea time about half six you can find loads of free parking . best place ever is a city. you asked i answered . i could say i dont want to pay at all . i cant use them anyway . have used them abroad no trouble .here i never have a problem finding somewhere to park . most aires are full of pople that couldnt find a nice place unless they have their hand held.
i do hear the locals here discussing why has that dutch van parked in the car park over there . etc . we are just half a mile from the a30 . get loads of foriegn campers park up near to eden and we have the famous roche rock. but the locals hate them parking up. i get frowned upon talking to the visitors if they go to the pub . i,m told dont encourage them. they do spend a few shillings in the pub in the coop fish and chips . etc . but they arent wanted by the locals . be hard to get something going down here i have spoken toour local coucillor . but what do you get ,there is a campsite down the road tell them to go there . the locals hate visitors just want to take their money and send them out the county.

They need a few more tourist pounds then they can make the roads down there a bit wider,
Just joking, I would not change Devon Or Cornwall at all.

 

[vwalan]

i think if there was a vote down here they would close eden . bomb newquay. etc . life down here does get spoilt by laybys carparks being filled with campers in summer . i like it here but then i disapear into my other life in winter. . nothing wrong with the roads .life goes on we still have to drive 40ft artics etc . some of the coaches are enormous. they all get around . it toof 40 yrs to get he a30 widened at the end of my road. should have happened years ago but local opposition stops it. every where here is a village . but in summer it grows 20 times at least . but now tourists are gone . its sleepy ville again. have fun cheers alan.

 

[maureenandtom]

I'm very positive to my own point of view! Seriously' all I want in England at least is to park up anywhere I'm legally entitled to park and to sleep in my motorhome overnight without let or hindrance, and when I leave the following day it's as though I hadn't been there, and if do otherwise I deserve a £1000 fine.
You can't get more positive than that.

I'm with you 100% on that.

 

[vwalan]

and you can .there are laws that allow that . its just that people will not stand up and tell authority to stop breaking the law. anyone that does is a trouble maker. we are suposed to go cap in hand and beg for our rights . thats uk . always as been . even worse down here still in the squire rules . if you dont behave i shall have your missus and kick you out of your home.

 

[Tbear]

I have noticed a few aires in France now have a barrier, to enter you have to use your credit card (I believe that a UK one is no good ) there are limits on how long you can stay & they know because you have to use it to get out & you are then charged for the time. There was one at Ondres Plage (near Capbreton) electricity, water & emptying were included, fortunately the barrier wasn't in use when we were there as the electric hadn't yet been connected.

As long as the charges are reasonable & there are facilities the system could work here in the UK, some of the car parks here already have it where you have to enter you reg. number in the parking ticket machine so this could be a way of enforcing any time limit on the number of days you can stay.

Although when we are abroad we would go for free aires if we can we don't have a problem paying at some if the location is ok. To think they would be willing to have free aires here in the UK is probably unlikely, we should try to think of ideas to make the idea of councils setting up overnight motorhome parking more palatable.

I think its a good idea but the problem with having a lot of security and services is the set up cost so you have to have a high premium to stay there so every one goes off to free sites and you may well bankrupt yourself. If we can use a car park that has some security already and may have toilets and water, then you can charge a sensible sum and make a small profit to reinvest The trouble I am having is that the security is a hight bar

 

[Deleted member 967]

I think its a good idea but the problem with having a lot of security and services is the set up cost so you have to have a high premium to stay there so every one goes off to free sites and you may well bankrupt yourself. If we can use a car park that has some security already and may have toilets and water, then you can charge a sensible sum and make a small profit to reinvest The trouble I am having is that the security is a hight bar

We encountered these barrier sites. The problems we found were although people had to get a ticket to get in many were tail-ending other vans out so upsetting the count system. The Aire at Boulogne Sur Mere was only half full but would not let anyone in because its count reckoned it was full because of this problem. At Tregastel the barrier was constantly failing and people were entering without a ticket but couldn't leave because they had no ticket to put into the machine with their credit card. We used the Smart car to get around the barrier on a couple of occasions to come back in getting a ticket so a van could leave. It would only issue a ticket if a vehicle was on the pad at the entrance. Most of the sites were charging about 7 euro with barriers. 3 or 4 euro if a collector called. Most bornes gave 100 litres of water for 2 euro but some were down to 50 litres.

On the question of Electricity I saw a site that had electricity at Arzon, but there were so many vans linking together it would have made the supply well overloaded. 6 to 8 or more vans on a 4 amp supply. Not worth the bother of getting a cable out. I believed this was still a pay supply, but I may be wrong.

 

[John H]

It only needs the right one to have a motorhome, maybe just his mate or her mum to have one.

In a dictatorship (and sometimes I think democracy is over-rated!) this would be so but in reality even the rich councillors are looking over their shoulders at "public opinion". Their prime concern is not the validity of the argument but how to get re-elected next time (and I speak as an ex-councillor!). This is why I have indicated before that if you are starting a campaign then the people to get on your side are not so much the elected councillors but the senior officials whose position does not depend on votes. They can write reports for councillors that slant things in one direction or another - and if it all goes wrong then the elected councillors take the blame! So what you want is a senior council official with a motorhome - preferably in the highways or planning departments. I know I have taken a light-hearted approach to this but that is a serious point. And good luck. Personally I don't think much of your chances but I won't attempt to stop you trying.

 

[John H]

and you can .there are laws that allow that . its just that people will not stand up and tell authority to stop breaking the law. anyone that does is a trouble maker. we are suposed to go cap in hand and beg for our rights . thats uk . always as been . even worse down here still in the squire rules . if you dont behave i shall have your missus and kick you out of your home.

I second the first part of that (can't speak for the squire, though!).

 

[Tbear]

In a dictatorship (and sometimes I think democracy is over-rated!) this would be so but in reality even the rich councillors are looking over their shoulders at "public opinion". Their prime concern is not the validity of the argument but how to get re-elected next time (and I speak as an ex-councillor!). This is why I have indicated before that if you are starting a campaign then the people to get on your side are not so much the elected councillors but the senior officials whose position does not depend on votes. They can write reports for councillors that slant things in one direction or another - and if it all goes wrong then the elected councillors take the blame! So what you want is a senior council official with a motorhome - preferably in the highways or planning departments. I know I have taken a light-hearted approach to this but that is a serious point. And good luck. Personally I don't think much of your chances but I won't attempt to stop you trying.

Sorry John, I should have made it clear that I am not dealing with an actual councillor but a senior official, who is acting as a go between, forwarding everthing to the relevant departments. I have got to say that the council seem a lot more posative than some members of this site. The only barrier they have put forward so far is the height barriers on most car parks. There has been talk of two posible sites where this may not be an issue. No promises have been made, just tentative talk.

The problems we are having with the "travellers" at present may well be an election issue!!

I really thought you guys would want to get behind this

 

[John H]

Sorry John, I should have made it clear that I am not dealing with an actual councillor but a senior official, who is acting as a go between, forwarding everthing to the relevant departments. I have got to say that the council seem a lot more posative than some members of this site. The only barrier they have put forward so far is the height barriers on most car parks. There has been talk of two posible sites where this may not be an issue. No promises have been made, just tentative talk.

The problems we are having with the "travellers" at present may well be an election issue!!

I really thought you guys would want to get behind this

Good luck! Sorry about my cynicism but it comes from years of being a cynic! And to re-enforce that, every time people talk about winning councils over it usually results (if it happens at all) in charges being imposed to park overnight that are equal to or greater than CLs, where you can also get fresh water and dispose of waste. I'm sorry but I don't regard that as a victory. On the other hand, if you can persuade your local council to offer free overnight parking or provide water/waste/electricity at a modest fee then more power to your elbow. And if you can get them to provide the kind of free aire that you find all over France I will eat this website!

 

[Tbear]

Good luck! Sorry about my cynicism but it comes from years of being a cynic! And to re-enforce that, every time people talk about winning councils over it usually results (if it happens at all) in charges being imposed to park overnight that are equal to or greater than CLs, where you can also get fresh water and dispose of waste. I'm sorry but I don't regard that as a victory. On the other hand, if you can persuade your local council to offer free overnight parking or provide water/waste/electricity at a modest fee then more power to your elbow. And if you can get them to provide the kind of free aire that you find all over France I will eat this website!

John As I said a little while back, many CLs are well out of town and sometimes not on a good bus route. Then you have to pay to park (if you can) in town as well as pay for your CL site. I am not planning to provide a free site. Rather reasonable parking for a reasonable fee. Toilets and water would be nice but I would not hold your breath for a hookup.

 

[John H]

John As I said a little while back, many CLs are well out of town and sometimes not on a good bus route. Then you have to pay to park (if you can) in town as well as pay for your CL site. I am not planning to provide a free site. Rather reasonable parking for a reasonable fee. Toilets and water would be nice but I would not hold your breath for a hookup.

There are those of us who regard a reasonable fee for parking as no fee at all! That's one of the advantages of being an old fart - I can park up for free in the countryside and use my free bus pass to visit the town. But don't be discouraged by me - I expect there are younger motorhomers out there who would welcome your site if it comes to fruition.

 

[Byronic]

Good luck! Sorry about my cynicism but it comes from years of being a cynic! And to re-enforce that, every time people talk about winning councils over it usually results (if it happens at all) in charges being imposed to park overnight that are equal to or greater than CLs, where you can also get fresh water and dispose of waste. I'm sorry but I don't regard that as a victory. On the other hand, if you can persuade your local council to offer free overnight parking or provide water/waste/electricity at a modest fee then more power to your elbow. And if you can get them to provide the kind of free aire that you find all over France I will eat this website!

Maybe thats where the entire emphasis and effort should be put ie solely on Aires in strategic locations, where there's a shortage of convenient alternatives such as CLs.

 

[Tbear]

Maybe thats where the entire emphasis and effort should be put ie solely on Aires in strategic locations, where there's a shortage of convenient alternatives such as CLs.

Byronic
I look forward to seeing your research on where viable sites are, where there are no alternatives. You will need to take into account distances and transport. Can you imagine the debate on what a reasonable distance is? Also how viable will the local CLs be for the next twenty years (incase they close) to know if its worth putting an Aire in the area.
The alternative, get an Aire if you can.
Richard