"Council opens first ‘Arosfan’ overnight car park site for motorhomes" (1 Viewer)

HKF

LIFE MEMBER
Jul 18, 2021
2,144
4,415
The Charente, France
Funster No
82,778
MH
Benimar Europe 740
Exp
Since August 2021
Apologies if this has already been posted.


"The first council-run Arosfan site offering motorhomes an overnight stopping point has been opened – a short distance from a striking coastal castle.

The site at the Maes car park in Cricieth is the first of four pilot sites Cyngor Gwynedd is developing to achieve better management of motorhomes in the county.

Work is also currently being completed at the Glyn Arosfan site in Llanberis, with work progressing on the Cei’r Gogledd (North Quay) site in Pwllheli and the Doc Fictoria car park (former Shell site) in Caernarfon.

Orders

To support the effort with the Arosfan sites, the Council has also introduced orders preventing motorhomes from overnight parking in bays on the A496 on the way into Barmouth, on the A497 near Cricieth and the Foryd area near Caernarfon. This follows instances of irresponsible parking and camping in recent years.

Councillor Dafydd Meurig, Cyngor Gwynedd’s Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “The opening of the first Arosfan site follows a significant amount of preparation work.

“We have seen a significant growth of people visiting Gwynedd in motorhomes in recent years, and it was clear that steps needed to be taken to try to bring the situation under control.

“The Arosfan sites offer dedicated spaces for motorhome owners to stay for periods of up to 48-hours and follow arrangements similar to those regularly seen on the continent with ‘Aires’ sites.

“Our intention is to encourage motor vehicle visitors to stay in a town or village and to provide an element of economic benefit to the local community and having better control over the sector.

“In addition to the Arosfan sites, it’s good to see that new specific orders are being introduced as part of a wider effort to tackle illegal overnight camping at specific hotspots.”

Arosfan-Cricieth_1-scaled-e1711032525963.jpeg
The Arosfan site at Cricieth

The Council also plans to develop public toilet facilities near a number of Arosfan sites which will be available to local residents and visitors to the area. The Council has submitted grant applications that would improve provision in the toilets near the Cricieth and Pwllheli sites.

Economy

Councillor Nia Jeffreys, Cyngor Gwynedd’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economy, said: “The visitor industry is a vital part of our local economy and we are pleased that people from all over the world are coming to visit Gwynedd, but this should not be at the expense of local people and communities.

“By developing a Sustainable Visitor Economy Plan we want to see our local communities benefit from the visitor industry, with proactive measures to protect our local communities, language, culture, heritage and environment from the negative impacts of the industry.

“The Arosfan project is a practical example of that in action. Following calls for better control of motorhome use, and discussions with campsite users and owners, the sites will provide an ideal location for use by people on travel holidays looking for a safe and responsible place to stay overnight.

“All sites are located within walking distance of key towns and destinations, and we encourage consumers to make the most of nearby shops and restaurants, and transport links.”

The Arosfan sites will accommodate up to nine motorhomes that will pay a fee to park for a maximum of 48-hours. The Cricieth Arosfan will include facilities for fresh water, chemical waste water, recycling and general waste. Activities such as fires and barbecues are not permitted.

Further details of the Arosfan sites can be found at www.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/motorhomes
 
Feb 14, 2021
3,622
7,799
Milton Keynes, UK
Funster No
79,219
MH
Burstner Lyseo 727G
Exp
19 month year 18000 miles UK, Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Italy. Campsites and off Grid.
Wow. £16.50 to park for less than 24-hours in a car park next to a railway line. Another £3 for 10-minutes of water.
I must be out of touch with the cost of camping in UK, but that seems quite steep to me.

It does seem that the standard price of these 'motorhome parks' (I include CAMPRA sites in these) are settling at quite a high level.
 

Lenny HB

LIFE MEMBER
Oct 18, 2007
53,488
150,256
On the coast in West Sussex
Funster No
658
MH
Hymer B678 DL
Exp
Since 2008 & many years tugging
Only says £16.50 4pm to 10am wouldn't surprise me if the charge to park during the day as well.
Looks like far too much space wasted could get twice as many vans in still with a reasonable space between vans.
Don't mind paying for servicing but when paying those extortionate rates for parking you expect it to be free.
 
Dec 17, 2019
1,031
1,818
St Leonards, Dorset, UK
Funster No
67,444
MH
Carthago Malibu
Exp
Converted caravanner!
CAMpRA work extremely hard in the background trying to get any concessions and engagement with the councils across the country. This is great progress, even if it’s more expensive than many “expect” to pay.
They desperately need more volunteers to help support their activities. So would encourage as many people as possible who have some spare time and would like to see more Aires in the UK assist them.
 
Feb 21, 2022
409
765
Funster No
87,003
MH
Autosleeper Cotswold
My understanding is that Aires are not supposed to have toilets or showers. You are supposed to use your own onboard facilities. However, when they are charging £16.50 per night it would have been good if they did include these. Clearly there are running costs but for £16.50 a night it would make these Aires more attractive.

£3 for water seems expensive. How many cubic metres would you normally get for £3?
 
Jun 14, 2014
1,453
3,103
Coventry
Funster No
31,965
MH
IH N680CFL
Exp
Since2014
CAMpRA work extremely hard in the background trying to get any concessions and engagement with the councils across the country. This is great progress, even if it’s more expensive than many “expect” to pay.
They desperately need more volunteers to help support their activities. So would encourage as many people as possible who have some spare time and would like to see more Aires in the UK assist them.
I don't disagree that they reworking hard to convince councils and it needs to be done.

But maybe not in the way of pushing motorhomes forward as the next council parking cash cow. Unfortunately that's how they are now seeing us in my opinion Ridiculous prices to park on what are normally empty overnight parking.

Lets not forget it can be done. Look how popular Canterbury park and ride is and a win for both sides

Water /waste/toilets and a free bus into town with parking £8 24hrs. So we stay longer and spend more

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Nov 15, 2023
53
96
West Midlands
Funster No
99,873
MH
Hymer
Exp
Newbie
Looks like a NOT welcome to wales campaign to me, £16.50 🤣🤣 where do you park between 10am and 4pm if your staying 2 nights ? No return for 7 days, If you move you’ve lost your space ? Height barriers but no mention of the set height 🤔 definitely not for us, I wonder how many FLT’s will turn up early evening and gone by 7am without paying ? Obviously a great idea and we need these type of stop overs but the people planning them should have half an idea of how motorhoming works and what we’re prepared to pay.
 

funflair

LIFE MEMBER
Dec 11, 2013
19,373
30,356
Guisborough
Funster No
29,351
MH
MORELO palace
Exp
since 2012
Only says £16.50 4pm to 10am wouldn't surprise me if the charge to park during the day as well.
Looks like far too much space wasted could get twice as many vans in still with a reasonable space between vans.
Don't mind paying for servicing but when paying those extortionate rates for parking you expect it to be free.
The spacing was the first thing that hit me Lenny, one vehicle gap would have been within the guidance as far as I understand as there will not be awning, outside furniture, BBQ etc to go into the equation. At Durham park and ride which allows overnight they are just wide spaces but gives around 1 metre gap and the price is £5 so not far of the the same as £16.50 pro rata to space used ;)
 
May 26, 2016
1,328
4,214
north wales
Funster No
43,304
MH
low profile
Exp
moderate
Those hatched areas are stupidly too wide! You could comfortably get more motorhomes on there with just one width of hatching, surely.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
OP
OP
HKF

HKF

LIFE MEMBER
Jul 18, 2021
2,144
4,415
The Charente, France
Funster No
82,778
MH
Benimar Europe 740
Exp
Since August 2021
Here's what the area did look like. i wonder if they could've made it look more attractive, with all that space?


1711274080310.png
 

Lenny HB

LIFE MEMBER
Oct 18, 2007
53,488
150,256
On the coast in West Sussex
Funster No
658
MH
Hymer B678 DL
Exp
Since 2008 & many years tugging
However, when they are charging £16.50 per night it would have been good if they did include these. Clearly there are running costs but for £16.50 a night it would make these Aires more attractive.
It would make it less attractive to me as we always use our own facilities, what would make it more attractive would be if it was a fiver a night.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Feb 21, 2022
409
765
Funster No
87,003
MH
Autosleeper Cotswold
It will be interesting to know from any Funsters visiting this aire how full it is.
 
Jun 10, 2010
8,522
20,233
Shrewsbury (sometimes)
Funster No
12,013
MH
N&B Clou Liner MAN
Exp
2006
I don't disagree that they reworking hard to convince councils and it needs to be done.

But maybe not in the way of pushing motorhomes forward as the next council parking cash cow. Unfortunately that's how they are now seeing us in my opinion Ridiculous prices to park on what are normally empty overnight parking.

Lets not forget it can be done. Look how popular Canterbury park and ride is and a win for both sides

Water /waste/toilets and a free bus into town with parking £8 24hrs. So we stay longer and spend more
And not 6 metres between Mhs. IMO its good that the council have done something but they regs need to move with the times, insisting that places need toilets and 6 metres is going to severely limit takeup, we've all been parking much closer ( sometimes door to door in the more popular spots) with very few problems.
 

scotjimland

LIFE MEMBER
Jul 25, 2007
2,346
10,186
Funster No
15
MH
A Woosh bang
So it's not an Aire.
Correct.. it is not


The UK currently has no network of officially recognised places where motorhomes and campervans can stay overnight, other than formal campsites or the simpler CS/CL 5 van sites which are approved by some clubs for the use of their members. This is in stark contrast to other countries in Europe where there are quite extensive networks of stopovers, which are often referred to as Aires.
There are certain regulations that apply in the UK, such as site licences and planning consent (see below for a resume of the legislation regarding site licences) for places that want to allow more than the occasional motorhome or caravan to stay overnight. If you want to provide facilities for motorhomes to stop overnight on your land you will need to know how to go about it.
Current legislation in the form of The Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 ('the 1960 Act') requires, apart from the exemptions detailed below, that anyone accepting motorhomes and campervans to stay on their land must have a site licence and planning permission from the local authority.



Further Reading

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
  • Like
Reactions: HKF

funflair

LIFE MEMBER
Dec 11, 2013
19,373
30,356
Guisborough
Funster No
29,351
MH
MORELO palace
Exp
since 2012
And not 6 metres between Mhs. IMO its good that the council have done something but they regs need to move with the times, insisting that places need toilets and 6 metres is going to severely limit takeup, we've all been parking much closer ( sometimes door to door in the more popular spots) with very few problems.
Or possibly the interpretation of the regs Jon, my reading of the below text says minimum 3 metres as cars and other objects can be placed in the 6 metre gap being quoted, again my understanding is that the 6 metre gap at rallies allows people to put up awnings and have tables and chairs outside as long as the 3 metre minimum safety spacing is maintained.


CAMpRA say 3 metres.

 
Last edited:

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Funsters who are viewing this thread

Back
Top