Closing of Ambleside Aire (Miller Field) (1 Viewer)

Oct 31, 2012
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Just read this on the " Other" Website. Thought it might be of interest.Regards BillyS

Good afternoon

Miller Field Motorhome Camping is under threat of imminent, permanent closure. The Lake District National Parks Authority served an Enforcement notice on the site, we appealed against the notice but an inspector appointed by the Planning Inspectorate has upheld the Enforcement Notice following a visit to the site on November 7th 2013.

The two major reasons given for the Enforcement Notice are a) that the site is located on a functional floodplain and b) the site has a visual impact when viewed from Loughrigg Fell.

We do not, and never have, disputed either of the above issues but our stance on point a) that the functionality of the floodplain has been improved as a result of works carried out by MFMC and b) the judicious planting of indigenous trees/shrubs/hedges will in time soften the visual impact, have both been pretty much ignored.

Even during the severe wet weather conditions of October 2009 not a single motorhome was put under any risk; the option to temporarily close the site due to conditions has always been available.

Our next step is to present our case to our local MP, Mr Tim Farron, and to this end we have a meeting with him on the afternoon of Friday 29th November. We aim to discuss the options available to oppose the Enforcement Notice and we are looking to take as much ammunition as we can to this meeting in order to support our case.

Consequently we would appreciate your comments, in the form of a reply to this email, stating your past experiences of staying on the site and the benefits your stay has had on the economy of the local area etc.....

Please do not contact the LDNPA directly as we do not wish to antagonise them further, likewise we do not wish to bombard Mr Farron with correspondence prior to our meeting with him.

Thank you for taking the time to read this email. Should you feel strongly enough to respond we would request that you do so at your earliest opportunity, we look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

Graeme Drylie
 
Apr 25, 2012
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ambleside Aire

Thanks Billy,
We have used this site a couple of times and its close but discreet location gives easy and excellent access to Ambleside. There are a couple of points I would make:

The Aire is next to a huge carpark which is surely at least as visible as the relatively small motorhome park.

As someone who has spent several weeks every year for almost 50 years visiting this part of the world, during which time I have taken many first time walkers up Todd Crag, which is in fact the small peak overlooking Ambleside and the head of Windermere, I have never once noticed the site nor heard anyone else comment on it. Unless someone has moved Loughrigg a couple of miles South East since I was last up Todd Crag, they would have to be very tall indeed to see the Aire from there!:Sad:
 
Aug 27, 2009
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From past experience I think that unless you can dispute visual impact when viewed from Loughrigg Fell or the flood plane status I see little chance them changing their minds. :Sad:

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BillyS
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Thanks HymerB544
I have only used the Aire once, earlier on in the year, I think it was back in Jan/Feb as I'm still a Newbie, only had the M/H 11 months !!!! It was very convenient for us, as we met a friend of my wife there, who also have a MH. We used the Aire for an overnight stop on our way up to Scotland. Saying that, we only live about an hours drive from Ambleside anyway. However, it is very convenient for the Town, which is only a very short walk, and quite a pleasant town it is too. It will be just another kick in the teeth for us M/H ers. When we stayed at the Ambleside Aire, there were at least a dozen MH parked overnight. This was earlier on in the year, and there was quite a bit of snow on the hills, but Ambleside was quite busy, with a lot of Hikers and day visitors. It is always a popular place for people to visit, especially in the summertime. We have visited it many times by car.It gets very busy, but not as crowded as Windemere. Regards BillyS
 

laneside

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Typical of Blighty-----give a man a desk and a pen and he will[STRIKE] f[/STRIKE] make a blooming mess of things that are not broken
 

Munchie

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NIMBY's pffft

Someone enjoys doing it?

Let's find a way to stop em!!! :Angry:

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Dec 28, 2011
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Does that mean that they are going to close Keswick C&CC site, as that can be seen from the surrounding countryside and is prone to flooding !!!!!
 

spitfire

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Does that mean that they are going to close Keswick C&CC site, as that can be seen from the surrounding countryside and is prone to flooding !!!!!

I doubt it ! I would suspect local sites might ave had a hand in this.

Britain really does have a problem with camping cars. No place to park to visit towns as the majority of car parks have height barriers. Aires are such a blessing and they are in many scenic places with no problems. Why is a row of parked motorhomes an eye sore? More than rows and rows of cars or busses ? Not to mention the revenue places are losing . I use places rather than towns as it includes visitor attractions. Stopped to visit Leeds Castle , never saw it as they wanted to charge the van as a bus !!

Maybe they should take a leaf out of Canterbury's book where they have and may expand facilities for overnight and visiting motorhomes.
 
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My in-laws used to farm just on the edge of the North Yorks moors at a place called Faceby.
They had a small caravan site in one of the fields where all of the vans were permanently sited. This had planning permission. Because someone was walking along the hills one day and saw the 'vans and "they stood out like a sore thumb", as they said, and complained to the National Parks Authority, all of the 'vans had to be painted dark green and they weren't allowed tourers at all. :Angry:

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movan

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Having stayed on the site at Dixon's Motorhome fun Meet I thoroughly enjoyed the facilites from the local town .... and I am sure THEY enjoyed the extra cash that OUR money brought in to their businesses. We used local eating places and takeaways to boot.. Many of us bought goods from the craft shops,

Most caravan sites can be seen from some point or another ... do these people think, therefore, that all sites should be closed down. Motorhomers are some of the most ecologically friendly people around because of our need for water and for waste disposal facilities .... they would be DIScouraging the kind of people they should be ENcouraging in this beautiful part of the country.

The weather wasn't perfect when we were there every day but we had no problem with flooding .... wet weekends, especially in the Lake District, are just par for the course for campers.

The Lake District is constantly advertising itself as a holiday destination to bring revenue into it but adverse publicity such as this will do a lot of harm to it.... I wonder what the local businesses/shops think of the decision.


 

Wildman

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A number of questions arise. As the op was lifted from another site there is no way to contact the original poster, no email address given. /Though I suppose one could find it on tinternet.

Assuming the council licenced Millers field why are they now doing a uturn. It is a 10 pitch site so not a CL who licenced it? Or is it just something they setup and got away with without a site licence in which case what are they complaining about.

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May 23, 2008
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Very sad if they close this site. We found it excellent for touring the Lakes and much more
friendly than the regimented stuck-up variety. On a visit we would spend money on food, clothes and other things bringing trade into the area. It wouldn't surprise me if the CC have a hand in this objection, they cannot cope with any oposition.
When is our sad country going to realise how much money is brought into areas with motorhomers. The Lakes are crowded at the best of times but to park in Ambleside brought us central and much more likely to visit surrounding areas.
How about a petition from Motorhome Fun???
Wilf:thumb:
 

John & Joan

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A number of questions arise. As the op was lifted from another site there is no way to contact the original poster, no email address given. /Though I suppose one could find it on tinternet.

Assuming the council licenced Millers field why are they now doing a uturn. It is a 10 pitch site so not a CL who licenced it? Or is it just something they setup and got away with without a site licence in which case what are they complaining about.

contact for bookings is Graham Drylie on mfmcambles@hotmail.com
 

Wildman

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Its funny, one site says 10 pitches and another 25, so how many licenced pitches do they actually have and who are they licenced by. I thought anything over 5 vans (which can be licenced as a CL by various parties) has I understand to be licenced by the local authority so how has this problem arisen unless it started as a legal 5 van site and has grown without the appropriate permission. Without more information it is difficult to make a decision. No matter how nice or handy the site is

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GJH

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As the quote from Graeme Drylie in the OP says "The Lake District National Parks Authority served an Enforcement notice on the site".

This is not the first time such a problem has arisen and it won't be the last and the cause is that the unelected National Park Authority - not any local council - has the final say on planning matters within the national park. Thus, they sometimes take decisions based on narrower parameters than those employed by local authorities.

The most constructive thing we can do is as Graeme Drylie asks - drop him an e-mail arguing sensibly for the facility to stay open. The e-mail address (as posted by John earlier) is mfmcambles@hotmail.com.

EDITED - Change "Roger" to "John" - mea culpa.
 
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Wildman

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I never posted the email address, but did find it, sent and email and got it bounced back as undeliverable.
 

spitfire

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Its funny, one site says 10 pitches and another 25, so how many licenced pitches do they actually have and who are they licenced by. I thought anything over 5 vans (which can be licenced as a CL by various parties) has I understand to be licenced by the local authority so how has this problem arisen unless it started as a legal 5 van site and has grown without the appropriate permission. Without more information it is difficult to make a decision. No matter how nice or handy the site is

Even if this is so it just shows however regulated UK is . Oh my god I live in France where paperwork is huge !! But really how many of you have stayed on an aire here where 5 vans are allowed and it has as mainly as can squeeze in!! Who pops along and says you can't do that ?? The village is just glad of the extra customers and revenue if it is a paid aire !!

Come on UK loosen up :ROFLMAO:

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Apr 23, 2010
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Millers Field

:Eeek:ACTION!!!
I live on the Isle Of Man but would quite happily travel to Ambleside with my Motorhome and drive around the town,as a sign of MY PROTEST of the threat of closure of this great little aire.
Yes I can write,but would they read it!!!
I can shout...........but would they listen.
i can moan on a forum,but they wouldn't care.:Sad:
 

laneside

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I have no experience of dealing with silly officials but would it help if as many members from Fun added their names to a petition/ plea for Milers fields to be kept open?

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canopus

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Alan you will find it very difficult to beat the Planning Enforcement Officer. We have a a small field on which we put 12x8 shed which houses a ride on mower to keep the field tidy. Its been there 3.5 years and we have no complaints. But we have been told to take it down - everything is black and white in the planners eyes. Had I have been Polish and growing cabbages then I doubt I would have had no probs :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 
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the masons have spoken and the dicision is made....just a case of dismissing the appeals, a legal requirement no doubt, and its all over.

Tut Pappajohn :Tongue1: Your conspiracy theory again. Many masons are caravanners/motorhomers, some even on this site. There is even a national masonic caravan club.
http://www.mccew.com/
plus local ones in most counties.
(It's England and Wales, because Scotland is separate juristriction with it's own Grand Lodge.)
 
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As the quote from Graeme Drylie in the OP says "The Lake District National Parks Authority served an Enforcement notice on the site".
This is not the first time such a problem has arisen and it won't be the last and the cause is that the unelected National Park Authority - not any local council - has the final say on planning matters within the national park. Thus, they sometimes take decisions based on narrower parameters than those employed by local authorities.
The most constructive thing we can do is as Graeme Drylie asks - drop him an e-mail arguing sensibly for the facility to stay open. The e-mail address (as posted by John earlier) is mfmcambles@hotmail.com.
EDITED - Change "Roger" to "John" - mea culpa.
I don't think that you can knock the National Park Authority. The Lakes are as they are because of the NPA. It is after all an area of outstanding beauty enjoyed by millions each year. Allowing one individual to spoil the pleasure of any of these millions for his own financial gain has to be resisted.

Strangely enough I will be visiting Ambleside next week, sounds like a one man protest in favour of it's closure is in order. Working on my protest banner already.:thumb:

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GJH

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I don't think that you can knock the National Park Authority. The Lakes are as they are because of the NPA. It is after all an area of outstanding beauty enjoyed by millions each year. Allowing one individual to spoil the pleasure of any of these millions for his own financial gain has to be resisted.

Strangely enough I will be visiting Ambleside next week, sounds like a one man protest in favour of it's closure is in order. Working on my protest banner already.:thumb:

Yes, as posted on the other thread, I always thought Miller Field was properly licensed. If that is not the case then I'm afraid the case cannot be won.
 

movan

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Yes, as posted on the other thread, I always thought Miller Field was properly licensed. If that is not the case then I'm afraid the case cannot be won.


Yes, but they DO have some strange people at their site.... ::bigsmile:

photo not uploaded, sorry...
 

movan

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Would be lovely to keep this open ..... but they have the most peculiar people camp there with the strangest of habits. :Smile:


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tan

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this is a copy of original email which was sent to me

From: Graeme Drylie [mailto:mfmcambles@hotmail.com]
Sent: 26 November 2013 21:11
To: Tarn Drylie; Teri Taylor; Terry & Kate Gill; Terry Nash; Tim & Sheri Parrington; Tim Bartlett; Tim Moore; Tim Cannon; Tim Moore; Toby Raphael; Tom Bell; Tom Kyle; Tom Kyle; Tommy Burgoyne; Tony & Alison; Tony Chamberlain; Tony Covell; Tony Covell; Tony Dickinson; Tony Maher; Tony Wallbank; tracey westbrook; Tracy ward-bascombe; Tracy & Martin Lewis; Trevor Clegg; Trevor Clifton; Trevor Fillingham; Trevor Keay; Tricia Cross; Trisha Dixon; Vaughan Ives; Vera Tyack; Veritie Yates; Vicky Mulvana; Victoria Cain; Virginia Carter; Virginia Carter; Viv Nutter; Wendy Agnew; Wendy Thomas; Will Yoxall; William Dawber; William Esler; William Hughes; Willy Maddy; Yvonne Holden; Yvonne Woodcock; Zoie Thompson
Subject: Miller Field Motorhome Camping - URGENT!

Good afternoon

Miller Field Motorhome Camping is under threat of imminent, permanent closure. The Lake District National Parks Authority served an Enforcement notice on the site, we appealed against the notice but an inspector appointed by the Planning Inspectorate has upheld the Enforcement Notice following a visit to the site on November 7th 2013.

The two major reasons given for the Enforcement Notice are a) that the site is located on a functional floodplain and b) the site has a visual impact when viewed from Loughrigg Fell.

We do not, and never have, disputed either of the above issues but our stance on point a) that the functionality of the floodplain has been improved as a result of works carried out by MFMC and b) the judicious planting of indigenous trees/shrubs/hedges will in time soften the visual impact, have both been pretty much ignored.

Even during the severe wet weather conditions of October 2009 not a single motorhome was put under any risk; the option to temporarily close the site due to conditions has always been available.

Our next step is to present our case to our local MP, Mr Tim Farron, and to this end we have a meeting with him on the afternoon of Friday 29th November. We aim to discuss the options available to oppose the Enforcement Notice and we are looking to take as much ammunition as we can to this meeting in order to support our case.

Consequently we would appreciate your comments, in the form of a reply to this email, stating your past experiences of staying on the site and the benefits your stay has had on the economy of the local area etc.....

Please do not contact the LDNPA directly as we do not wish to antagonise them further, likewise we do not wish to bombard Mr Farron with correspondence prior to our meeting with him.

Thank you for taking the time to read this email. Should you feel strongly enough to respond we would request that you do so at your earliest opportunity, we look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

Graeme Drylie

______________________________________________________________________
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movan

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Have copies of all our responses been sent to the man who sent the email to you, please?

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