Overnight campers' action

so, all paying car parks should be shut as it costs money to paint the lines and collect the fees....?

I see you're a caravanner, so you do your shopping in your car...perhaps we should shut the car parks to everyone as they cost money to run?

however, I'd like to think that some clever chap/girl at the council will have set the rate to accommodate such costs, unless they are happy to absorb (some/all) the costs in exchange for visitors (in cars or MHs) injecting a little back into the economy....

ive said I'm happy to pay a sensible rate to park...I do it with my car so why would I not be happy doing same in my van?

economics works in mysterious ways and tourist towns without industry rely on visitors coming there to spend a little money.

i visit many seaside (tourist) towns and the scenario goes something like this....drive to town, park(pay), have a stroll, do a bit of shopping(pay), have a bit of lunch(pay), might get fuel(pay)....

thats a 'normal' type of day visit....nothing specific....the spend may be more if coming for a particular purpose.

im sure I'm not alone in spreading my disposable around my own area

..and when away in the van, the scenario is very similar, pay for parking, get supplies, visit pub etc....

you may think I'm some blood sucking sponger but my wallet says otherwise

Well the cup must go to this post for the silliest reply of the thread, perhaps we should all stay at home and not encroach into other parish council areas instead of bringing income into them. 

Councils have a much wide ranging responsibility than that, parking being one of them. The Council here in MK makes millions in parking fees every year which at the end of the day helps to subsidise other much needed services. Obviously each case must be investigated by Council officials but even if the benefits, in terms of parking, were cost neutral there was bound to be and added benefit from extra visitors spending money locally. All I would say is for Councils to at least start from a neutral position and do the investigation to see whether it would work for them. For some it might not but for others, especially in tourist areas it could have a good pay back. Unfortunately this does not overcome local prejudice against even thinking about it as an option?

I wonder what would happen if Central Government made a small fund available to councils to provided these facilities. My guess is that they would be all over it like a rash and suddenly we would see parking spaces suitable for motorhomes spring up in the most unlikely places!

David

I seem to recall somebody trying to discuss the merits/demerits of beach houses in this post, where does that fit in the realms of "silliest reply"

I don’t reckon it’s as silly as some of the misguided comments about MHs and, in particular, Cornwall that keep cropping up in this thread.

Correct 'Rufs', yes yours was the second silliest post by calling an allotment shed a beach house/chalet/hut.👍 The third is the starting of this thread 🤣

As usual for this forum, Motorhoming has come under fire from the Caravanning fraternity.   A fraternity who are far from blameless when it comes to extended stays not on campsites.  . Too often we see lines of caravans , mostly posh newish vans in lay-bys, on public parks, even on sports grounds. Where do they put their waste, I shudder to think.  We all choose our accommodation based on our needs, let's be nice about other people's choices. 

K 

The caravaners you mention, around here anyway ,are now more likley to be in possesion of motor caravans with the Merc/Bmw/Audi pilot vehicle/s in the convoy when moving to a "cleaner "pitching area 

why are all you MH'ers walking around with a chip on your shoulder ?, perhaps it is because you know there is an elephant in the room "free loaders" which in some areas have been addressed by the passing of local bye laws by local councils in a range of different ways. Some are trying 2 year trials on a "suck it and see" basis, some like my own are introducing car parks with height barriers, car parks where overnight habitation is not allowed, therefore addressing what is conceived to be a potential problem before it becomes one, and what might work very well in one area does not neccsaserily work in another. Yes within the caravan fraternity we have people who are "free loaders" but in the main they come from a certain part of the community that consistently break the law. I dont think we can compare Mh's in the Uk with Mh's in Europe. Mainland EU is a vast area in comparison to the UK. e,g Spain is nearly twice the size of the UK with a much smaller population, however, "wild camping" predominantly by MH's, is now being frowned upon in large areas of Spain, perhaps somebody can enlighten me as to why they think this is when they seem to have more than sufficient area for this not to be the case ?. The same can be said for the various counties within the UK, what might suit the Cornwall community may not suit the Hampshire community. As JVB66 has said "we choose our accomodation based on our needs" , if we all were to use this accomodation sensibly and legally we would not be having this debate on here.   

Why do you find it necessary to insult fellow club members, Rufs?

I only see one person in this thread with a chip on his shoulder and I think he’s a wannabe motorhomer.