Crowded out

I’ve just checked out the reviews on here, and on UKcampsites, greater percentage gave it very good reviews. Did notice one other about more than five onsite. It looks nice on Google Earth. However, the lack of being forewarned about a rally would irritate us as well. Mind, it’s happened on Club Sites, never mind CLs........One of those reasons why I telephone if I can and ask a few questions. There’s a cracking response from owner on UKcampsites to a member who sounds like a manoeuvring disaster. 😲

Are you talking about the original post or the one i was answering?

like the warden not allowing the Swiss member to empty his cassette?

You speak for yourself - I’m not in the least bit hypocritical on this issue. Some years ago we travelled about 350 miles to a CL site that we had booked months in advance only to find that we were the 9th outfit on site. The owner couldn’t care less and we left the next morning. Of course we complained to the club and the site is closed. A loss to all of us but if owners aren’t prepared to work within the law why set up a site in the first place. I’m tired of hearing about the poor site owners struggling to maximise their investment. What about us! We book sites in good faith expecting certain conditions to be met. That 350 mile journey was for our annual two week holiday - completely ruined. 

 What has someone wanting a freeby  service,for a self inflicted "problem" against those who had a unforsean problems and are willing to accept and pay for their service?

I thought you were citing the use of discretion?....obviously not across the board

There is discretion  and then there those who think they can abuse the good wiil"/discretion "

Hi All

All CL Sites should only ever have a maximum of 5 vans on site at all times.  Having 9 vans on site not only puts your own CL certificate in jeopardy and raises questions about the safety of our members whilst on site but it also risks the Club’s exemption to be able to certificate all of our CL’s.  I appreciate some members are happy to ignore extra vans for fear of losing a good site and we work very hard to keep existing sites but we have a duty of care to all parties that the 5 van rule is not abused and that we do not lose our exemption. Any breach of our guidelines is taken very seriously by the Club.

Our CL network has plateaued at this network size for the last 5 years and we are continuously receiving applications for potential new sites and there are many in the process of getting ready to open.  When an applicant applies for a CL it is made clear to them that the income from these sites will not be substantial and that they need to take into consideration the cost of setting up and running the site.

As mentioned before, we will happily work with CL owners who wish to extend their pitching by getting a commercial licence from their local authority as well as keeping their CL site wherever we can.

Thanks

Maddie

This. Thanks Maddie

Hi Folks,

An interesting discussion. My wife and I run Firs Cottage CL just outside Much Wenlock in Shropshire. We bought it in April 2017 when it was advertised in the sale particulars as a 6 van site. We have been caravanning together for 15 years and only used CL's after first using Club Sites but then deciding that they were too busy for us and we didn't use the extra facilities that we were paying a premium for. The club currently certificate sites based on a few conditions, fresh water and chemical toilet emptying points must be available and no more than 5 vans are permitted. Ehu's, if provided, must be checked by an electrician periodically and if water is from a private bore hole, then that must be checked annually. Our septic tank has to be pumped out annually also. We have to have a minimum of £1m liability insurance. 

I think that there needs to be a change to allow 6 vans where space allows CL owners to fit an extra van in. This would give owners a little extra income to cover the above mentioned costs and keep pitch fees from rising too quickly. We are priced at £16 per night but will be increasing to £17 as from 1st Nov 2019. In April this year we had an electric bill of £350 in May it was £260. Unfortunately some guests, despite a sign asking them not to run heaters in awnings, still do. Caravans and motorhomes are consuming much more power than they did 10 years ago but some people still want pitch fees to be at 2009 prices. We regularly have vans with with outside showers for washing boots and dogs, large fridge freezers, underfloor heating, microwaves, air con  and some caravans now have integral heaters that heat an awning. Metered EHU's are now being installed on more CL's and guests given 10 free units of power per day. Although we haven't gone down this route ourselves, it is something we'll consider. Then those who wish to consume excessive electricity would pay rather than low users paying increased pitch fees. 

We recently had our annual visit from the Caravan Club 'Advisor' to use his own definition but more accurately Inspector. Who always arrives unannounced and walks on to our private property, this year at 3pm on a Sunday as we were about to go out to visit my parents. A call in advance, even on the day would be appreciated. This is in effect a spot check to ensure compliance. We had 6 vans on and I make no apology for it. Even if he had called to say he was coming we wouldn't have hidden the fact.

I know I have veered off the topic of 5 vans but my point is relevant in that 1 extra van would help keep CL's from closing. It would be a boost to the rural economy, which we need in these uncertain times. It wouldn't affect guests staying on these sites in a negative way as they would still be small, quiet getaways. Perhaps legislation at a government level to allow permitted development of 6 van sites.

We have invested a lot of money into making our CL what it is today and we'll continue doing so. We provide fully serviced, hard standing pitches with 16amp EHU. We've planted trees and put up bird feeders and boxes. As caravanners ourselves we strive to give guests the sort of site we would like to stay on. This takes time and money and we love doing it but having the 6th pitch enables us to invest more in the site and cover our increasing outgoings.

We would be happy to have you come and try our CL and see what you think.

Thanks for reading.

Brian and Alison

Firs Cottage CL