Scarborough traders complain

[Pollik]

the debate continues then, will be interesing to see what happens, especially when one of the councillors owns a caravan site

And he will, of course, declare an interest and stand down....won't he?



Polly

 

[yorkslass]

"not only is it making the area look untidy it is taking money away from Licensed Sites "

I think the councillors should be reminded exactly who is ripping off who.

The sites are ripping off the traders (and the MH owners)by charging £38 per night to park a motorhome. As pointed out it would be better to charge a nominal fee or nothing for the parking in unused carparks, leaving the occupants of the vehicles to spend the money locally.
Maybe as a condition you would have to leave by say 8:00.

Paul

why would we have to leave by 8:00 if the required parking fee was paid? at the end of the day we are no different to other visitors. by the way i am not advocating spending days in one place.

 

[Byronic]

I'm with you on the various points you make Mandrake, furthermore my philosophy extends to the general principle that I don't owe anything to local traders and I don't feel obliged to use any service if I choose not to. If a trader has something to sell then I may buy it if I think it benefits me,it's called the "free market". Does the trader himself buy only British made stock? I think not.
True, M/Homes may wildcamp overlong in popular spots, and therefore deny others the same privilege, no reasonable person would object to a max. stay period, applying equally to all vehicles, not singling out M/Homes.
My M/Home may be an unsightly scene for the more aesthetically inclined local, but I would say to him/her "you may consider my M/Home unsightly but in the morning at least I'll be gone, whereas many of the aesthetically challenged buildings in your town will still be there in a hundred years".

 

[sparrks]

why would we have to leave by 8:00 if the required parking fee was paid? at the end of the day we are no different to other visitors. by the way i am not advocating spending days in one place.

I was trying to think of a way to stop people parking up for days on end. I was thinking of a recent story of an elderly motorhome owner parked up for a fortnight down at St Michaels Mount in Cornwall. Some people do take the Pi$$ on occasions.

 

[Pollik]

The usual way is to say.3 nights maximum. Not really rocket science.

 

[kimbowbill]

No problem in quoting me. Have you checked out Motorhome Friendly and Unfriendly Parking
It has information from councils on their policy and provision.

Hi John

I dont know about most of the parking on this site but Scarborough tickets are now NOT TRANSFERABLE, i got caught out, sont want any 1 else too

Jen xx

 

[fofeg101]

I don't wish to offend any of our members who may have the misfortune to live around there but Scarborough is way down on my list of places I want to visit, I've lumped it in with my other "no wish to visit" places, I don't want to visit, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, China or Cyprus. If the no overnight parking applies it will just reinforce my decision to avoid the place. BTW, I must confess, I did visit Scotland.....once!!.

 

[kimbowbill]

I don't wish to offend any of our members who may have the misfortune to live around there but Scarborough is way down on my list of places I want to visit, I've lumped it in with my other "no wish to visit" places, I don't want to visit, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, China or Cyprus. If the no overnight parking applies it will just reinforce my decision to avoid the place. BTW, I must confess, I did visit Scotland.....once!!.

i think thats a vary unfair comment to say misfortune, there is some very beautiful places surrounding Scarborough, each to their own, it wunt do for us to all to like same places, where do you like to visit? or is that top secret fofeg

Jen

 

[refurbisher]

Been back again for our sins, this time without thr 4 year old. £55 quid in the local Thai restaraunt (Sawasdi krab) etc.etc. Up at 5 this morning to catch a couple of Dabs, nobody else in the carpark, felt real guilty about the space we'd taken up. Had a couple of hours on Marine Drive with some top Wild Campers, watched the Peregrines overhead the castle, I am not an animal my name is Lee Merrick. Was that his name if not u knew what I was saying, I'm just a Mhomer.:lol-053:

 

[Deleted member 967]

Been back again for our sins, this time without thr 4 year old. £55 quid in the local Thai restaraunt (Sawasdi krab) etc.etc. Up at 5 this morning to catch a couple of Dabs, nobody else in the carpark, felt real guilty about the space we'd taken up. Had a couple of hours on Marine Drive with some top Wild Campers, watched the Peregrines overhead the castle, I am not an animal my name is Lee Merrick. Was that his name if not u knew what I was saying, I'm just a Mhomer.:lol-053:

There is not much point making comments on a motorhome forum and expecting things to change. On these forums you are preaching to the converted.

Joan and I have been thinking about this issue.

If every motorhomer visiting a town had some calling cards printed to hand out to establishments where they had spent money, saying for example,

"We are vising motorhome users and have just spent money in your establishment. Please support us in our desire to be able to park on the towns car parks without restriction when we visit your town."

Something along these lines would give us a higher profile with those establishments we are supporting with our spending, and hopefully they would then be able to put forward the benefits to trade to those who seem to be against Motorhomes parking.

Just our thoughts

We tend to use our Smart car to visit places or to shop.

 

[donkey too]

Now I reckon thats a good idea mate. If cards were printed we could have the reverse side with the site logo on and maybe get a few more members that way.
I already have www.wildcamping.co.uk printed on the back of my personal cards.

 

[Tbear]

There is not much point making comments on a motorhome forum and expecting things to change. On these forums you are preaching to the converted.

Joan and I have been thinking about this issue.

If every motorhomer visiting a town had some calling cards printed to hand out to establishments where they had spent money, saying for example,

"We are vising motorhome users and have just spent money in your establishment. Please support us in our desire to be able to park on the towns car parks without restriction when we visit your town."


Something along these lines would give us a higher profile with those establishments we are supporting with our spending, and hopefully they would then be able to put forward the benefits to trade to those who seem to be against Motorhomes parking.

Just our thoughts

We tend to use our Smart car to visit places or to shop.

Hi John,

I like your thinking. Not sure I want to hand cards out or the unrestricted parking, might be asking too much. However it would not hurt to mention to traders that you find it difficult to park your motorhome near their business and your peers have similar problems so are unable to use them most of the time. I do not expect any of them will go screaming at the council for us but they may stop sounding off against us in the local press.

Richard

 

[kimbowbill]

There is not much point making comments on a motorhome forum and expecting things to change. On these forums you are preaching to the converted.

Joan and I have been thinking about this issue.

If every motorhomer visiting a town had some calling cards printed to hand out to establishments where they had spent money, saying for example,

"We are vising motorhome users and have just spent money in your establishment. Please support us in our desire to be able to park on the towns car parks without restriction when we visit your town."

Something along these lines would give us a higher profile with those establishments we are supporting with our spending, and hopefully they would then be able to put forward the benefits to trade to those who seem to be against Motorhomes parking.

Just our thoughts

We tend to use our Smart car to visit places or to shop.

Great idea, i was thinking of something similar but mine was like having our own currency or tokens what you buy from council but yours is a much better idea, love it John

 

[Bernard Jones]

Interesting discussion about this very same subject on Radio Devon over Easter. A local landlord complained that all 5 of his holiday apartments were empty over Easter, because everyone was camping. Another local replied this was a very good thing, because he could rent his holiday apartments out to local people long term as there is a desperate shortage of affordable rented accommodation. Of course that would involve the landlord lowering his rents....

 

[John H]

There is not much point making comments on a motorhome forum and expecting things to change. On these forums you are preaching to the converted.

Joan and I have been thinking about this issue.

If every motorhomer visiting a town had some calling cards printed to hand out to establishments where they had spent money, saying for example,

"We are vising motorhome users and have just spent money in your establishment. Please support us in our desire to be able to park on the towns car parks without restriction when we visit your town."

Something along these lines would give us a higher profile with those establishments we are supporting with our spending, and hopefully they would then be able to put forward the benefits to trade to those who seem to be against Motorhomes parking.

Just our thoughts

We tend to use our Smart car to visit places or to shop.

I like the idea, John but I can see one major hitch - most of our shopping is done in garages/supermarkets where you are dealing with employees who will not necessarily have any interest in passing the cards onto their employers (and indeed may have instructions not to accept anything). Short of asking to see the manager every time you shop, I can't think of a way round this. But I think you may be onto something if it can be refined. Happy travels,

 

[Deleted member 967]

I like the idea, John but I can see one major hitch - most of our shopping is done in garages/supermarkets where you are dealing with employees who will not necessarily have any interest in passing the cards onto their employers (and indeed may have instructions not to accept anything). Short of asking to see the manager every time you shop, I can't think of a way round this. But I think you may be onto something if it can be refined. Happy travels,

We are happy for anyone to refine this into a useable item.

Most supermarkets have a customer services counter where it could be handed in.

 

[Tbear]

We are happy for anyone to refine this into a usable item.

Most supermarkets have a customer services counter where it could be handed in.

Might be going a little off topic but rather than hand in a card I thought I would send Sainburys the following email;-

Dear Sir,

My wife and I often spend weekends and holidays touring the UK in our motorhome. We find Sainburys the ideal place to call in and buy food and fuel during our travels. We have shopped with you at our local branch for many years so we know you are a brand we can trust. We very rarely find it difficult to park and you do not seem to use hight barriers.
The problem we have is parking at night. Campsites often charge £40.00 plus per night in the high season. They justify this by offering services we do not need. Water, showers, electricity, etc. Motorhomes are self sufficient so do not need any of these things. What we do need is a hard surface to park on as we tend to sink into grass in wet weather. Often a problem on sites. The nearest site can be many miles away.
Sainburys have branches everywhere with large empty carparks at night. A Motorhome parked in one of these becomes a free security guard, helping to prevent vandalism and graffiti. They are not likely to then drive to Tescos to get their shopping. When they pop in, in the morning to get their paper, they may well pick a few other things while they are there? Purchase fuel on the way out?
I am well aware of the problems with the travelling community moving into inappropriate areas and staying for weeks, leaving behind all sorts of mess so I am not suggesting a free for all. Perhaps a time limit of 10pm to 8am with an hour or two on one end to do some shopping. You could limit it to nectar card holders with a minimum number of points earned per year. You could make a small charge for a badge that had to be displayed with a serial number so if anyone caused a problem could be banned.
I know Tescos and Aldi will sometimes allow overnight stays if you approach the duty manager with a couple of bags of shopping that you have just purchased from them but it would be wonderful if Sainburys was the first to produce a proper system as I believe Walmart have in America so Asda may well do in this country.

Kind Regards


I will post the reply if I get more than a generic "Thankyou for your email blah blah blah"


Richard

 

[John H]

Might be going a little off topic but rather than hand in a card I thought I would send Sainburys the following email;-

Dear Sir,

My wife and I often spend weekends and holidays touring the UK in our motorhome. We find Sainburys the ideal place to call in and buy food and fuel during our travels. We have shopped with you at our local branch for many years so we know you are a brand we can trust. We very rarely find it difficult to park and you do not seem to use hight barriers.
The problem we have is parking at night. Campsites often charge £40.00 plus per night in the high season. They justify this by offering services we do not need. Water, showers, electricity, etc. Motorhomes are self sufficient so do not need any of these things. What we do need is a hard surface to park on as we tend to sink into grass in wet weather. Often a problem on sites. The nearest site can be many miles away.
Sainburys have branches everywhere with large empty carparks at night. A Motorhome parked in one of these becomes a free security guard, helping to prevent vandalism and graffiti. They are not likely to then drive to Tescos to get their shopping. When they pop in, in the morning to get their paper, they may well pick a few other things while they are there? Purchase fuel on the way out?
I am well aware of the problems with the travelling community moving into inappropriate areas and staying for weeks, leaving behind all sorts of mess so I am not suggesting a free for all. Perhaps a time limit of 10pm to 8am with an hour or two on one end to do some shopping. You could limit it to nectar card holders with a minimum number of points earned per year. You could make a small charge for a badge that had to be displayed with a serial number so if anyone caused a problem could be banned.
I know Tescos and Aldi will sometimes allow overnight stays if you approach the duty manager with a couple of bags of shopping that you have just purchased from them but it would be wonderful if Sainburys was the first to produce a proper system as I believe Walmart have in America so Asda may well do in this country.

Kind Regards


I will post the reply if I get more than a generic "Thankyou for your email blah blah blah"


Richard

Good idea Richard - and good luck with it - but I tend to have a gut feeling on these things that it is not so much what you say but the number of times it is said. If supermarkets were deluged with cards of the type John suggests then they might start to think about it, whereas a few e-mails are likely to get lost in the system. I really like John's idea but still have another gut feeling that because you are dealing with employees (even at customer service counters) then there is not going to be the enthusiasm to pass the info up the line. I'm not trying to pour cold water on any of these ideas but I think it is important before you start any campaign to look at all the potential holes and fill them if you can. On a more constructive note, could I suggest that any card/certificate could be posted on this forum so we could print it off and the campaign would have an organised feel to it rather than just a few people doing their own thing?

 

[Tbear]

Good idea Richard - and good luck with it - but I tend to have a gut feeling on these things that it is not so much what you say but the number of times it is said. If supermarkets were deluged with cards of the type John suggests then they might start to think about it, whereas a few e-mails are likely to get lost in the system. I really like John's idea but still have another gut feeling that because you are dealing with employees (even at customer service counters) then there is not going to be the enthusiasm to pass the info up the line. I'm not trying to pour cold water on any of these ideas but I think it is important before you start any campaign to look at all the potential holes and fill them if you can. On a more constructive note, could I suggest that any card/certificate could be posted on this forum so we could print it off and the campaign would have an organised feel to it rather than just a few people doing their own thing?

Hi John,

Yes I agree that no single Email or card is going to do any good but the more people write, email, card, complain in person, the more chance the correct person will get the "hint"

Richard

 

[Deleted member 3802]

the latest plan by the councillors in benefits on sea is to stop us outsiders using our free bus passes on the sea front bus routes:dance: they would rather the seat be empty than only get half price from the government for it