Aires bubble bursting? (1 Viewer)

Aug 19, 2013
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We're coming across plenty of closed aires, and more new commercial fee charging aires in France. Don't know if they're all closed as it is presently still out of season, or if they are permanently closed - the service points are sometimes wrapped in black plastic, giving the impression that they could be temporarily closed. One place in Brittany had the service point totally removed, even though close by was a waste processing plant.

I'm coming to the conclusion that there is a change in the attitude of local councils, maybe seeing the new pay sites as a less costly or even a profitable option.
 

scotjimland

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Just my view.. aires were built when France was a a socialist country, considered a service rather than a business, local mayors saw a way of attracting motorhome travellers to the town/village.. but in a now capitalist France many are seen as prime land for developing and making profit.. particularly those on the coastal resorts.


Mimizan heliport aire is a good example.. sold to developers for holiday homes.. homes that will only occupied during the summer (short) season.. the aire was always busy, even in winter but clearly someone saw a big profit in selling it. http://www.sudouest.fr/2016/12/06/m...mee-en-logements-de-vacances-3003723-3452.php
 
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JJ

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Typical of the capitalist system under which the "Haves" constantly acquire more and more, often at the expense of the "Have Nots" :(

Escape from the evil... ;)

Join the motorhoming cult at Quinta Majay in Central Portugal. :whistle:

Bring pies. (y)

JJ :cool:

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Dorwyn
Aug 19, 2013
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Typical of the capitalist system under which the "Haves" constantly acquire more and more, often at the expense of the "Have Nots" :(

Escape from the evil... ;)

Join the motorhoming cult at Quinta Majay in Central Portugal. :whistle:

Bring pies. (y)

JJ :cool:
Shush. If the capitalists hear of the shortage of pies in Portugal, they'll move in !!
 

spitfire

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Many communes are passing their Aires over to a commercial enterprise . No maintenance costs to the commune , yah cos keeps my bill down ! Better kept and upgraded and the commune gets a percentage .
Still inexpensive compared to many camp sites . I have just booked campsites in the U.K. for our club trip . Cheapest site £20 !!!
Sorry don't know how two ! Don't know how to delete !!!
 
Mar 23, 2012
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Motorhomes getting so popular its bound to happen its supply and demand as spaces get harder to find the price will go up.

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Zigisla

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We did find that a lot of the Aires we stayed at during the Easter Period, their free water points did not work. (n) The grey and black seemed ok, but you couldn't flush and the fresh didn't work. Now, we've never used these facilities before so I don't know if this would be a seasonal thing or they are closing or at least saving money on giving water away. Many of the paying borne worked though.
 
D

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If the aire in the place you want to stay is commercial then pay the fee and stay there. I don't see the problem.

Go to Germany and loads of Stellplatzes are commercial. It may even be a majority of them.

Aires aren't intended to be some kind of way to make freeloading easier.
 
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Perhaps the massive expected increase in trade to the local businesses failed to materialise:)

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EX51SSS

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Tbf, in Eastern France and Rhone-Alps, they are thriving. Albeit we're on an ASCI site at present, we have used 5/6 Aires that are down this side. A couple are at Port De Plaisance with EHU etc included and one free with all facilities.
 
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I have to say the approach taken on these Managed Aires is very professional, Actual Pitches, Booking even, etc . It's quite obvious the growth of Motorhoming is causing many of the popular locations becoming too busy thus the need for Management.
I can't see the Mairee enjoying the daily problems and maintenance arising from numbers staying that often far exceed what was originally intended and with little to no input from the local Village/Town Council.
 
D

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The ones that are closing seem to be the ones in popular tourist areas.

The land value argument wouldn't apply in other places. I can't see a lot of demand for holiday villas in some random village in Eastern France.
 

Huwmari

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If the aire in the place you want to stay is commercial then pay the fee and stay there. I don't see the problem.

Go to Germany and loads of Stellplatzes are commercial. It may even be a majority of them.

Aires aren't intended to be some kind of way to make freeloading easier.
We use the aires all the time in France, not to be freeloaders but because we object strongly to paying exorbitant campsite fees for facilities which we don't need, ie showers, toilets, washing up sinks, etc. The commercial aires which we have used have been great as they provide exactly what we need - fresh water, grey water grid and cassette emptying, for which a charge usually under 10 euros is made. If there are to be more commercial aires then they get my vote as they combine the best of worlds - good motorhome facilities without paying for things you don't need. If it stops some of the "cheek-by-jowl" parking habits of the French in busy areas, that would be another advantage but I'm not holding my breath on that one!
 
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We use the aires all the time in France, not to be freeloaders but because we object strongly to paying exorbitant campsite fees for facilities which we don't need, ie showers, toilets, washing up sinks, etc. The commercial aires which we have used have been great as they provide exactly what we need - fresh water, grey water grid and cassette emptying, for which a charge usually under 10 euros is made. If there are to be more commercial aires then they get my vote as they combine the best of worlds - good motorhome facilities without paying for things you don't need

Couldn't agree more,bring it on the more the better.

And the preregistration prepaying stops some of the fiddles that go on(n)

We were on a large Coastal Aire, French Holiday Weekend and over the day a number of Vans arrived parking oddly,however, all came clear that they were a group friends/family kids/bikes/dogs in tow,once they had all arrived they re parked forming a oblong enclosure with one small walk in entrance, large communal table formed in the centre for feeding/ drinking/game time, well!! You can guess the rest, they just about ruined everyone else's weekend, and then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When they were ready to go the first left,drove straight around to the barrier to re-enter only they got the Ticket/Card and passed to one of the others "free 2hour parking" that reversed out,pulled back in and repeated it until they all got out for FREE.

The Aire went back to peace and quiet and nobody but me appeared to observe this action everyone was just talking about the peace and quiet.
 

KeithChesterfield

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I don't think there's been much of a shift in French attitude in most areas, certainly not a coordinated effort, although Aires will shut from time to time but others will open and year on year it seems to balance out the total Aires available.

Local people see that there are those that take advantage and try to avoid paying, even the cheaper Aires, and that's probably why barriers are being used more and more.

Mailleraye is one example of Motorhomes, usually Foreign plated, that used to arrive late at night and go early in the morning to avoid paying.

With the barrier how operating there were very few Foreign plated vehicles on site in April but plenty of UK plated Motorhomes.

In the month we were in France we went on 19 free sites, not because they were necessarily free, but because they were on or near our intended route - thanks to CamperContact.

It will be a good few years yet before it becomes a problem for those intending to use the Aires system but it may cost a bit more – or you could stay in this country and pay a fortune for overnight stops – I know which I prefer.

:france: :france: :france: :france:
 
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Dorwyn
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Couldn't agree more,bring it on the more the better.

And the preregistration prepaying stops some of the fiddles that go on(n)

We were on a large Coastal Aire, French Holiday Weekend and over the day a number of Vans arrived parking oddly,however, all came clear that they were a group friends/family kids/bikes/dogs in tow,once they had all arrived they re parked forming a oblong enclosure with one small walk in entrance, large communal table formed in the centre for feeding/ drinking/game time, well!! You can guess the rest, they just about ruined everyone else's weekend, and then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When they were ready to go the first left,drove straight around to the barrier to re-enter only they got the Ticket/Card and passed to one of the others "free 2hour parking" that reversed out,pulled back in and repeated it until they all got out for FREE.

The Aire went back to peace and quiet and nobody but me appeared to observe this action everyone was just talking about the peace and quiet.
10/10 for technique. I can barely follow what they're doing, but I can't see it working for us two!

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Dorwyn
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I do agree that some of the the pay-for-stay ones I've used have been clean, well run and quite spacious. And many of the free ones have been crowded and much less clean and totally disorganised. There is room for both approaches.
 

John & Joan

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We did find that a lot of the Aires we stayed at during the Easter Period, their free water points did not work. (n) The grey and black seemed ok, but you couldn't flush and the fresh didn't work. Now, we've never used these facilities before so I don't know if this would be a seasonal thing or they are closing or at least saving money on giving water away. Many of the paying borne worked though.

Being a winter Aire user I can state that most borne facilities have their water cut off in winter to prevent freezing. I came upon one that had been left on and the area was swimming in water. I found the water supply tap and turned it off. Someone else may have turned it on to get water and left it on causing the community to have to repair the burst and pay for the wasted water. As for no water to flush. You have a tank of waste water use that the swill your cassette, if you need to and also use the waste water to leave the borne clean. I have done this on many occasions where previous users have left the drain covered in Sh-t

France 2012 (2) 001.JPG
 

KeithChesterfield

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John - like the advice and footwear - but ......

The last place I'd leave the yellow cap is on top of the borne very close to the edge.

If that cap drops over the edge, think breeze or fumble fingers, you'll be grappling in the sh*t to get it out of the hole it's fallen in .....

Just a thought.

:france: :france: :france: :france:

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Zigisla

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As for no water to flush. You have a tank of waste water use that the swill your cassette, if you need to and also use the waste water to leave the borne clean. I have done this on many occasions where previous users have left the drain covered in Sh-t
On these occasions I used the breakfast time washing up water, but it was the other users that didn't:sick:
 

magicsurfbus

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We did find that a lot of the Aires we stayed at during the Easter Period, their free water points did not work. (n)

The usual excuse is to avoid winter freezing, which is fair enough - it's just that they seem to forget winter's over in some places.

I opted for the little and often approach to re-filling water on our last trip (Mar-Apr) using my trusty watering can, so I kept my eye out for alternative water sources. Autoroute aires de repos often have taps and hydrants available near the toilet blocks, and some even have basic service points for truckers to do their washing up and refill the water. Likewise near beaches - where water's supplied to a loo or outdoor shower there's usually a tap as well. I still tend to buy large containers of bottled water for drinking, just in case. A 3 Euro 8 litre bottle will last us about a week.

For swilling the loo cassette you can always use your own grey water in the absence of any coming out of the borne's tap.

I do agree that some of the the pay-for-stay ones I've used have been clean, well run and quite spacious. And many of the free ones have been crowded and much less clean and totally disorganised. There is room for both approaches.

I don't begrudge paying to stop somewhere overnight - I just don't want to pay extra for campsite facilities that I don't need. I wish more campsites in this country would go down the continental route and provide lower cost basic MH parking areas near their entrance. One not far from my workplace is a fully featured campsite, but with a small CL area near the gate, so you can choose your level of service and pay accordingly. Flexibility's the way ahead.
 

eddie

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Typical of the capitalist system under which the "Haves" constantly acquire more and more, often at the expense of the "Have Nots" :(
Its the way of things

Man "A" has five beans

Man "B" has "0" beans

They both are treated equally and their beans are doubled

Man "B" complains he has been treated unfairly lol

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