Lack of motorhome facilities taking from Wild Atlantic Way tourism

[scotjimland]

Heading copied from the Irish Examiner .. spot the glaring spelling error

Increasing large numbers of campervans and motor homes are traversing top tourist route, the Wild Atlantic Way.

But along the 2,500km route, from the Inishowen Peninsula in Co Donegal to Kinsale, Co Cork, there are too few purpose-built facilities to cater for the motorhome sector.

The warning came from Kerry county councillor Seamus Cosaí Fitzgerald: “There is a crying need for overnight facilites for campervans. Many caravan parks do not provide for them.”

Full Story ..
http://www.irishexaminer.com/irelan...ng-from-wild-atlantic-way-tourism-412766.html

 

[big map]

In the title
facilitiesis

 

[StanandShirley]

Drove the route last year, never had a problem parking safely each night. But agree more places would be nice. Anyone thinking about doing the trip go for it you will not be disappointed.

 

[GJH]

Interesting that the councillor said "the local authorities need to play a lead role as private developers did not see such parks as profitable."
I wonder if the local taxpayers he represents would be happy to pay extra to subsidise facilities. Do they derive sufficient extra income from motorhomers to cover their extra costs?

 

[Jenben]

We met an Irish campervan owner when travelling in Spain last year. He was disappointed by the lack of facilities back home and was preparing a business case to build a camping car aire in his local village.
His research had come up with economic benefit information based on typical French cases. This showed that the value of providing such facilities in most tourist areas was very easy to justify.

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[bobandjanie]

We had a month and did the whole of the wild atlantic way in June last year, and must say wild camped all the time with only one night on a aire.
Found it very easy, most places along the route have toilets even an outside tap, some places had hight barriers, and places had no camping signs but there were loads of places to stop.
The Irish are very friendly and one of the safest places we have been, look forward to returning.
I think its more of " we are missing out here, we need to build somewhere and earn some euros."
We never saw that many motorhomes, and the biggest problem is disposing of rubbish.
Bob

 

[GJH]

We met an Irish campervan owner when travelling in Spain last year. He was disappointed by the lack of facilities back home and was preparing a business case to build a camping car aire in his local village.
His research had come up with economic benefit information based on typical French cases. This showed that the value of providing such facilities in most tourist areas was very easy to justify.

Good for him. If only more of those who "demand" aires in the UK would do the same rather than just leaving it to others.

 

[buttons]

We met an Irish campervan owner when travelling in Spain last year. He was disappointed by the lack of facilities back home and was preparing a business case to build a camping car aire in his local village.
His research had come up with economic benefit information based on typical French cases. This showed that the value of providing such facilities in most tourist areas was very easy to justify.

It would be interesting to see his calculations and business case. Also how he intends to keep the Romanies out.

 

[MattR]

It would be interesting to see his calculations and business case. Also how he intends to keep the Romanies out.

I believe that the Irish don't have many problems with "travellers". Their legal system works.

 

[Lot lover]

I believe that the Irish don't have many problems with "travellers".

Of course not, they have all crossed the Irish Sea.

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[MattR]

Of course not, they have all crossed the Irish Sea.

Because the Irish laws are effective. Shame that the UK laws are not applied properly or are too weak.

 

[GJH]

Because the Irish laws are effective. Shame that the UK laws are not applied properly or are too weak.

It's the latter. Irish Travellers don't enjoy the special legal status in Ireland that New Labour gave them in the UK. That status causes problems for UK local authorities not just from Irish Travellers but also from others who pretend they enjoy that status when they don't. The current government did have plans to change the law but whether they will have time in the short term, now that they have been landed with Brexit to deal with, remains to be seen.

Following a lot of work by motorhomers there are a number of aires in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. As far as I am aware they have no problems with illegal usage of them.

 

[TheCaller]

Interesting that the councillor said "the local authorities need to play a lead role as private developers did not see such parks as profitable."
I wonder if the local taxpayers he represents would be happy to pay extra to subsidise facilities. Do they derive sufficient extra income from motorhomers to cover their extra costs?

Where the benefit accrues to a group rather than an individual, it follows that the group must provide the facility, or contract with an individual to provide it on their behalf.

The same argument goes on all the time over straightforward car parking.

District A sets it's car parking charges high enough to cover the cost of maintaining them. No charge on the rates, but the risk is that everyone goes to shop in District B, where car parking is free & paid for by the ratepayers, in the hope that the increased business activity in the town more than covers it.

At a big out-of-town supermarket, the supermarket provides the car park & it's paid for by the shoppers in the price of their shopping.

In a retail park, the landlord provides the parking, covers the cost via the shop rents & the shopper pays as part of the price of their shopping.

In a town centre with free council provided parking, the council raise the money through taxation & the shoppers pay through higher prices to cover it.

In a town centre with paid for parking, the shopper pays for the parking directly & the shopping separately. Whether the shopping is any cheaper as a result is debatable & the convoluted systems of local taxation muddies the waters so much anyway I think it's difficult to draw any meaningful comparisons.

The problem with motorhome occupied overnight parking is that it won't make much difference until almost every other town provides it. No one is going to decide to tour East Anglia just because Bury St Edmunds provides overnight parking. If a dozen towns in East Anglia offered the provision, then it becomes a viable proposition to tour the region.

 

[GJH]

Where the benefit accrues to a group rather than an individual, it follows that the group must provide the facility, or contract with an individual to provide it on their behalf.

The same argument goes on all the time over straightforward car parking.

District A sets it's car parking charges high enough to cover the cost of maintaining them. No charge on the rates, but the risk is that everyone goes to shop in District B, where car parking is free & paid for by the ratepayers, in the hope that the increased business activity in the town more than covers it.

At a big out-of-town supermarket, the supermarket provides the car park & it's paid for by the shoppers in the price of their shopping.

In a retail park, the landlord provides the parking, covers the cost via the shop rents & the shopper pays as part of the price of their shopping.

In a town centre with free council provided parking, the council raise the money through taxation & the shoppers pay through higher prices to cover it.

In a town centre with paid for parking, the shopper pays for the parking directly & the shopping separately. Whether the shopping is any cheaper as a result is debatable & the convoluted systems of local taxation muddies the waters so much anyway I think it's difficult to draw any meaningful comparisons.

The problem with motorhome occupied overnight parking is that it won't make much difference until almost every other town provides it. No one is going to decide to tour East Anglia just because Bury St Edmunds provides overnight parking. If a dozen towns in East Anglia offered the provision, then it becomes a viable proposition to tour the region.

I agree. In the examples given the costs and benefits broadly balance out so that those who pay are roughly deriving an equal amount of benefit.

The problem with UK aires is that the benefit accrues to a much smaller group that that on which the cost falls to be paid and, thus, many people would be paying in but getting nothing back. It is only on the few occasions where a balance can be achieved that it is possible to justify the cost of an aire to those funding it.

 

[TheCaller]

..... and benefit is hard to both define & quantify.

The immediate financial benefit is to providers of goods & services. But their success provides a general benefit to others in the area, in that it makes those businesses continued existence more secure & the region more prosperous in general.

Where the provision is widespread, as in much of Europe, there is a reciprocal benefit to motorhome owning residents. You support the provision of facilities in your home area to the benefit of incoming tourers, while they support the provision of facilities in their home area so you have somewhere to stopover when you visit their area.

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[GJH]

..... and benefit is hard to both define & quantify.

The immediate financial benefit is to providers of goods & services. But their success provides a general benefit to others in the area, in that it makes those businesses continued existence more secure & the region more prosperous in general.

Where the provision is widespread, as in much of Europe, there is a reciprocal benefit to motorhome owning residents. You support the provision of facilities in your home area to the benefit of incoming tourers, while they support the provision of facilities in their home area so you have somewhere to stopover when you visit their area.

Again I agree. It is that difficulty, coupled with lack of resources and understanding of the subject, which prevents councils from jumping in with both feet - which is why I commented as I did in post #7