Plans that will 'boost to the economy of the South Hams' by allowing allow motorhomes and camper vans to stay overnight in nine car parks have been ba

[pl1980]

I have just returned from 5 weeks to France, Belgium, Luxembourg (diesel currently €1.71 / litre), Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and on average spent €0.16 per night on parking fees. That was because I spent three nights at Wursburg at a paying Stellplatz. At three places that were free I was supposed to pay €1 for 100 litres of water but one place the machine was faulty so I got the water without having to pay. At one place the toilet disposal machine was €1.
I have maintained for years that it is cheaper to pay the ferry fee to go to Europe than it is to stay in the UK. I bought a new Pilote some years ago and in the owners manual it explained that the French Government did a survey in the early 70s which concluded that it was a good thing for the local economy to allow motorhomes to park in town overnight.
As for parking in the UK overnight in a car park with no facilities I can't see a reason why the hourly rate should be any more than the daytime rate. I guess the local camp site owners (who can't be on the council committee that decided this) will be upset that they are losing customers at their £40 a night fields.
Anyway I wish the council success, they are brave, taking on the possibility of having to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds getting rid of undesirables. I believe the French don't have that problem - I was told that if travellers arrive en mass, the Police come along with guns and bulldozers. That wouldn't be allowed in the UK : Human Rights don't you know.

So true, didn’t want to make this point because I’m a flip flop leaving here over 16 years.
From my experience staying/parking (overnight):
Aire in Germany: free (with facilities for m-homes)
Wineyard in France: free (with facilities for m-homes)
Aire (car park) in Reculver: £10 (with no facilities for m-homes)
Wineyard In Kent: £10 (with facilities for m-homes)
Lot of motorway services in Europe have facilities for m-homes.
Its easier to do it in Europe, unlucky we can do only two m-home trips to mainland Europe per year. But do lot of weekends and short breaks in UK and hoping that something will change same as they changing/boosting high street.

 

[mariesnowgoose]

There is a long way to go before any UK local authority gets it right for us. First off they need to appreciate we bring money to the local economy and it is insufficient to just provide a parking space in a car park without facilities (water and a loo drop) and charge £10-15 to sleep in a parking bay. Second they need to understand that that a van full of hooligans will think nothing of paying (or even not paying) and dropping the contents of the loo at the edge of the car park. it is foolish for the local authorities to assume this will not happen, so that problem is almost of their own making. Third, we need to understand and expect that, as in popular coastal places in Europe, campers are banned from parking in towns in the high season as there are too many. As we know, generally the solution there is to provide water, a drop point (in some cases electric as well) and charge a pifflingly small amount of money. The local authorities could learn and profit if they chose to, but alas they are greedy and expensive Mayflys .... here today and gone tomorrow.

Agree will everything you say, apart from the fact that local authorities are slow to adopt change. They are also hamstrung by things they can and can't do. Some authorities seem to be more switched on than others, depends on whether you've got people with brains, imagination and foresight working for them, and - even if they are lucky enough to have decent people working for them - whether or not they are allowed to put some of those good ideas into practice.

Round here the biggest impediments we seem to have to making improvements - historical lack of funding aside - is nightmare parochial and/or vested-interest councillors (of all political shades) and a high percentage of jobsworth council employees in all the wrong managerial positions. It was ever thus

 

[alcam]

Agree will everything you say, apart from the fact that local authorities are slow to adopt change. They are also hamstrung by things they can and can't do. Some authorities seem to be more switched on than others, depends on whether you've got people with brains, imagination and foresight working for them, and - even if they are lucky enough to have decent people working for them - whether or not they are allowed to put some of those good ideas into practice.

Round here the biggest impediments we seem to have to making improvements - historical lack of funding aside - is nightmare parochial and/or vested-interest councillors (of all political shades) and a high percentage of jobsworth council employees in all the wrong managerial positions. It was ever thus

Have dealt with , and observed , Edinburgh council for decades . Occasional good ideas which , invariably , are not fully thought out or implemented professionally .
Started to list examples but don't have time to write a book

 

[Fisherman]

What’s required is national governments to fund and impose minimum standards from the billions they make from us every year. Leaving this to a bunch of poorly informed councillors, with a bias against us, will never get anywhere.

 

[mistericeman]

What’s required is national governments to fund and impose minimum standards from the billions they make from us every year. Leaving this to a bunch of poorly informed councillors, with a bias against us, will never get anywhere.

I suspect we may be somewhat down the list of stuff at the moment...

 

[Fisherman]

I suspect we may be somewhat down the list of stuff at the moment...

There’s never a time when governments don’t have more important things to deal with. And I doubt if things will improve now for decades to come. This could be achieved for little or no cost.

 

[mariesnowgoose]

There’s never a time when governments don’t have more important things to deal with. And I doubt if things will improve now for decades to come. This could be achieved for little or no cost.

I think you're expecting those who run the country and public services to think about joining the dots, Bill.

Wouldn't hold your breath on that one!

 

[Fisherman]

I think you're expecting those who run the country and public services to think about joining the dots, Bill.

Wouldn't hold your breath on that one!

Sorry Marie, but where did I say I was expecting anything. I stated what I thought was required, not what I expected.

 

[mariesnowgoose]

Sorry Marie, but where did I say I was expecting anything. I stated what I thought was required, not what I expected.

Bill, that wasn't a criticism of you!! It was a sarcastic observation on my part about how local and national government works (i.e. not)!

 

[Fisherman]

Bill, that wasn't a criticism of you!! It was a sarcastic observation on my part about how local and national government works (i.e. not)!

I know

 

[yeoblade]

I

What is the going rate.
Theres an old saying that your house is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Now if folk are willing to pay £15, then that is the going rate, if not then it’s to expensive and not the going rate. I have decided that £10 is as much as I would pay for a parking spot, but if others want to pay more that’s their choice.

My reference to the 'going rate' meant the rate at which they normally charge for the carpark space. Shown below, I see cars are free overnight. I don't know if there are dedicated MoHo spaces or not that justify the premium of £15.
I am actually going to a Salcombe Campsite in a couple weeks time (paying £30/night ) and will check out this carpark whilst there.

Long Stay Car Parks High Season (25 Mar to 31 Oct)	Up to:	Price
North Sands TQ8 8LD RingGo - 3489 Charging Period Every day 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.	1 hour	£1.10
2 hours	£2.10
3 hours	£3.00
4 hours	£4.00
All day	£6.50
Overnight	Free

 

[Geek]

Sorry BUT I don't agree OR think that will ever happen...

Do you expect cheaper food etc in a shop because its out of hours....

IF you want us to be accommodated in town/city centes/honey Pots...
OR Frankly anywhere...

Expect to be treated as a commodity...

It's just how it is...

Fish and chips at my local chippy is cheaper than at the seaside/honeypot...
Because its a desirable location...

There are a lot of places that aren't so desirable where food/parking etc is frankly a heap cheaper...

It boils down to are you willing to pay x for y...

IF not then find somewhere else that's cheaper...
IF places allow managed overnight stays for what seems expensive to YOU...
Then give it a while.... Prices will either level out OR they will become places to avoid...
Simple market forces...

The reality is that an empty car park generates no revenue. If they charge a fair price they will make money off-peak. If the price is too high, they won't. I'd not pay £15 to stay overnight in a carpark, but perhaps many would. That's fine by me.

 

[mariesnowgoose]

I'm just reflecting on how paying £10 or £15 to stay overnight in a normal, unsurfaced bit of tarmac designated as a 'car park' that would previously have been free-of-charge, or minimum and acceptable fee, to stay overnight would have received howls of outrage and disbelief before the pandemic.

Oh, how our wild camping lives have changed (and not just because of the pandemic).

Meeting up with Rubbertramp this weekend (any members still around in this forum who remember Mark and Jill?) for a beer and a catch up. They're slowly travelling back down the east of the country after a foray up to Scotland. From the brief word I've had on the phone it sounds like they've had a pretty cr*p time with camper parking up in that neck of the woods

 

[mariesnowgoose]

The reality is that an empty car park generates no revenue. If they charge a fair price they will make money off-peak. If the price is too high, they won't. I'd not pay £15 to stay overnight in a carpark, but perhaps many would. That's fine by me.

There's the heart of the matter: exactly what would be considered a fair price for parking your wheels on a bit of tarmac with no service amenities?

 

[skippy]

Why not follow Powys Council policy 1 night in 7 in their car parks 24 hrs limit free for disabled.

 

[Thistle]

I’ve just bought the Brit Stops book so going to give a few places in it a try later this week.
Paying to just park in an otherwise empty car park over night doesn’t sit well with me, however buying a service or visiting an attraction in return seems a good deal.

We will be stopping overnight at a Craft centre tomorrow, Karen could go a bit ott as she is well into her hobby so this free stop idea might get expensive!

 

[Geek]

I’ve just bought the Brit Stops book so going to give a few places in it a try later this week.
Paying to just park in an otherwise empty car park over night doesn’t sit well with me, however buying a service or visiting an attraction in return seems a good deal.

We will be stopping overnight at a Craft centre tomorrow, Karen could go a bit ott as she is well into her hobby so this free stop idea might get expensive!

I bought that book one year. I found it less than useful.

Finding where you are in the book was a hassle. Very few pubs with good sized car parks say no, whether they're in Britstops or not. I'm not a big fan of reheated chilled food at pubs, or second-rate beers, which made many of the ones listed a little disappointing.

Lockdown has changed things, and some of this site's pub stops are at closed down pubs. I do wonder how up to date Britstops is in comparison. They might be better.

Generally, if the pub looks OK and the car park looks OK, it's worth asking, whether they're listed or not.