Aires in the UK

I think we've been down this road many times before.

As I see it, the biggest stumbling blocks are land provision and finance. I don’t believe anyone has yet come up with satisfactory solutions to that. It’s not fair to expect Council Tax payers, Income Tax payers or club members to find and purchase land and establish aires for the use of a minority of people who wish to scoot around the country but who don't want to use established sites. I await enlightenment.

The use of suitable council car parks is often a feasible option but needs to be self financing as it incurs a cost to the council.

I don't object to the aire or car park concept per se but do object to a minority seeking special treatment at the expense of the majority, especially when perfectly good facilities already exist. If businesses wish to set up such facilities, that's fine and good luck to them. That actually begs the question of why they haven't already opened aires. Could it be that they're unlikely to be profitable ventures?

We are not asking for special treatment, but looking for ways to both help motorhomers who prefer to travel without booking ahead, and communities who are looking for a revenue stream. 

There are facilities like this in the UK, but not many as communities are not aware that this could be a source of money for them.  Island communities in Scotland have cottoned on to this market.  Huisinish Gateway run by the South Harris Trust and the Camping system for the Island of Tiree are two you can check on.  On the mainland Glencaple and Caerlaverock in Dumfries and Galloway are leading the way.  In Yorkshire Craven District Council has realised that this is a suitable revenue stream for them- with little outlay for them.

 

TW  has pointed out why aires are likely to be a non starter ,in any consequence in the UK as it is all down to finance,  and that is all areas now and for quite some years to come will take quite some managing 

The cc have advised that £23 million has been lost so far this year, and if reports in the media are anywhere near correct people are vary reluctant to anywhere now ,so every where savings rather than spending is the buzz word (unless its the government)

well you are asking for special treatment, as you are asking for public funds to build and maintain these new aires for your, or MH use. Either from local or national government. Why do you think this should this happen? There is a finite pot of public money and rather than spend it on things perhaps we all use, like roads, schools, public services, policing, the NHS even, you want some of this public money to fund your preferred way of using your outfit, ie not booking ahead. 

You are advocating taking money that could be used for the poorest in our comunities and giving it to those who have MH whose cost the poor can only dream about. A sort of Robin Hood in reverse. Take form the poor to give the rich a better expereince in their MHs

Maybe local shops and services would hook into this revenue stream but maybe then they should pay for it?

This is not being anti MH, I would say the same if someone suggested using public funds to build caravan type aires.

 

I beg to differ, you are indeed asking for special treatment for motorhomers. While it might also benefit local communities once they have financed the set up, it is not a facility that will be available to all.

I assume you are referring to the North Harris Trust's Huishinish camping site and admit I am not familiar with that one. However, I am familiar with the West Harris Trust's set up which consists of two fairly normal sites which aren't cheap and a series of lay-bys where overnight parking of MHs is permitted in return for a small (£5?) fee. The latter contain no facilities other than a rubbish bin. None of this prevents wild camping in off piste areas and I doubt benefits the local community to any great degree.

A far better example of establishing pitching for MHs and caravans whilst benefiting the local community is the set up of community sites in Shetland. Most are manned by volunteers, are set up in village hall car parks, on marinas and so on and the majority have facilities. They definitely help the communities by bringing visitors to the area. However, and this is the big difference, there were previously few, if any, campsites on Shetland and the community sites were established with the help of EU funding which means the local communities benefit without having had to dig deep. These sites were a new venture and they brought tourism to an area that needed it and were not sites set up alongside other established sites to only satisfy motorhomers.

 

 

Good point, There’s a momentum in increasing motorhome sales but it’s not matched by dedicated facilities in the way that many forward thinking european countries/cities have done. I think the Club should have explored that option for the proposed Bristol site instead of trying to perpetuate a format from the past that may not find favour locally. There’s are always plenty of ‘half-empty’ folks who tell us why things can’t be done, but what’s needed is a fresh perspective based on how motorhomers do things, which is very different to many caravaners. 

That’s a good point about Bristol, SB, but don’t forget that this is the Caravan and Motorhome Club and such a site should be available to all members. 👍🏻

I think you actually mean  some motor caravaners are not like caravaners ,so how would a caravan fit when wanting an "aire "type facility in Bristol instead of what is proposed

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When this has been discussed before (oh yes,  it has!) it has been pointed out just how many such facilities actually do exist out there if one takes the time to research them - Britstops and pub sites amongst others have been mentioned frequently.

I find it staggering in the present circumstances that there should be even a hint of local authorities being asked to consider any sort of financing for a relatively small number of users (as evidenced by the relative lack of support for "interesting petitions"  in the past.)