Motorhome owners lash out at Devon 'ban' proposal (1 Viewer)

Apr 12, 2017
213
588
Dundee
Funster No
48,129
MH
Elddis Autoquest 140
Exp
Newbie
Worked in Aberystwyth , yrs ago campers parked along esplanade for days on end , banned overnite , but for a nominal fee you can park overnite down near the lifeboat station no problem , it’s works .
I've no problem paying nominal fees for over night parking, definitely think many councils are missing a trick here. Quite happily did it in Bourton On Water when we'd spent an entire day there and couldn't be arsed driving on elsewhere. Car park we were in had provision for overnight fee, think it was between £6-8 quid.
 
Apr 12, 2010
4,795
51,071
Bury St Edmunds, West Suffolk
Funster No
11,027
MH
Weinsberg Cara
Exp
since 2007
Worked in Aberystwyth , yrs ago campers parked along esplanade for days on end , banned overnite , but for a nominal fee you can park overnite down near the lifeboat station no problem , it’s works .
What worries me is some people won’t even pay a nominal fee. It happens in France a well, I’ve seen people break barriers rather than pay.
 
Sep 17, 2020
935
3,125
Totton
Funster No
75,977
MH
Bailey Autograph 745
Exp
Since Sept 2020.
The sign infers it is ok unless you are likely to cause a breach of the peace. (y)
'Fraid not, it lists the banned activities seperately. Cooking, camping etc AND disturbances.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Jul 27, 2013
825
3,887
Wilts/Oxon border
Funster No
27,149
MH
Van Conversion
Exp
Since childhood!
If we don't respect these signs in car parks we only have ourselves to blame,my big worry is the smaller vans with no facilities just emptying their waste and toilet wherever they want to , I challenged a couple of guys in a campervan just about to do that in Glencoe park up , I took a photo of van and registration told them I was calling the police , they moved on but would have done same thing at there new park up , please don't leave anything but tyre marks , or we won't have these park up places for much longer .
While I totally agree with you saying we should respect signs in car parks - people who don't are directly responsible for increased restrictions, hostility and height barriers - I object to the comment that the 'big worry' is that those of us in smaller vans 'just empty their waste and toilet wherever they want to'. My small campervan has an portapotti and I have never had any problem emptying it properly even though I do 80% of my camping not on sites. Most with VW or Transit sized vans or other PVCs are responsible campers. Ignorant and disgusting people emptying their toilet cassettes on beaches and into the sea etc are just as likely to be from motorhomes as from camper vans.
Similarly to you, I also have had to stop someone emptying their loo inappropropriately although they weren't about to just empty it straight onto the ground. In this instance, the motorhome owner/driver was poking about pulling up drain covers on private land (a museum's grassed car park) where a) the sewage is not on the mains system and b) disposing of waste on private land without permission is taking a big liberty.

Back to ignoring signs - this will become more and more of an issue not only regarding overnight parking/sleeping, but also with increased height barriers and restrictions, meaning that parking a motorhome or campervan even for a few hours during the day is going to become harder and thus our access to many lovely places will be limited, thanks to the consistently selfish actions of the 'me, me brigade'.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Apr 26, 2015
2,714
6,791
Ottershaw
Funster No
36,067
MH
Hymer S820
Exp
First motorhome May 2021
Most of these vans will belong to surfers, I spent several years in the late 70's early 80's surfing at Woolacombe and Croyde, I'd travel down their on a Friday night and leave Sunday afternoon every couple off weeks, summer and winter, surfers (and also hang glider pilots) have always over nighted on the esplanade most of us used the toilets in the red barn when we went for breakfast in the morning or in one of the pubs in the evenings, surfers can't carry their boards long distances they need to be close to the beach, I don't see why this has suddenly become a problem, perhaps it's an influx of townies that have started complaining to the council. The surfers have mostly always got on well with the locals, certainly we did, I remember well competing in the tug of war at the may day celebrations every year, I pulled for the life guards and we all ways lost to the farmers team but had a great time partying afterwards, happy days.
 

Gellyneck

LIFE MEMBER
Jun 5, 2014
9,132
17,988
Scotland
Funster No
31,836
MH
C Class
Exp
More than toes wet now!
Most of these vans will belong to surfers, I spent several years in the late 70's early 80's surfing at Woolacombe and Croyde, I'd travel down their on a Friday night and leave Sunday afternoon every couple off weeks, summer and winter, surfers (and also hang glider pilots) have always over nighted on the esplanade most of us used the toilets in the red barn when we went for breakfast in the morning or in one of the pubs in the evenings, surfers can't carry their boards long distances they need to be close to the beach, I don't see why this has suddenly become a problem, perhaps it's an influx of townies that have started complaining to the council. The surfers have mostly always got on well with the locals, certainly we did, I remember well competing in the tug of war at the may day celebrations every year, I pulled for the life guards and we all ways lost to the farmers team but had a great time partying afterwards, happy days.
Even our dug goes surfing there! :Smile:

1615979731048.png
 
Apr 12, 2020
1,021
1,034
South Lincs....
Funster No
69,935
MH
Rapido 7095DF
Exp
20+ years. Previously Hymer B654 and Hymer S660 both c/w tow-bars.
The sign infers it is ok unless you are likely to cause a breach of the peace. (y)
No! It says :-
“sleeping” prohibited.
“Cooking’ prohibited.
”Camping” prohibited.
”Personal ablutions” prohibited
and,
”Disturbances likely to cause a breach of the peace” prohibited....

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Sep 3, 2012
7,454
25,838
Cheshire
Funster No
22,759
MH
C Class Elddis 175
Exp
8+ years
No! It says :-
“sleeping” prohibited.
“Cooking’ prohibited.
”Camping” prohibited.
”Personal ablutions” prohibited
and,
”Disturbances likely to cause a breach of the peace” prohibited....
No it doesn't, you have added prohibited after each action,they are only prohibited if they are likely to cause a breach of the peace . (y)
 
Oct 12, 2014
215
476
Opposite the Needles
Funster No
33,795
MH
C Class
Exp
14 years
It’s a list of things which are prohibited. As with any list there is a comma after each item in the list and an ‘and’ between the next to last and last item in the list. ‘Disturbances likely to cause a breach of the peace is a single (and last) item in the list. Everything in the list is prohibited

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Sep 17, 2020
935
3,125
Totton
Funster No
75,977
MH
Bailey Autograph 745
Exp
Since Sept 2020.
But it does state" likely to cause a breach of the peace"
How does sleeping , cause a breach of the peace?
Sleeping etc are banned in their own right, there is nothing in that wording that makes their being banned conditional on there being a potential for a breach of the peace. The potantial breach of the peace is after the 'and', also being banned in it's own right.

For what it's worth, the definition of a breach of the peace changed some years ago after a court case and rather than being well, pretty much anything beyond complete tranquility in the neighbourhood and a handy way of getting persistent idiots off the street, now has to contain an element of fear for the safety of people or property. So whilst you couldn't sleep or wash there, a well behaved all night party might be lawful, once the COVID rules are suspended, obviously.

Edit - sorry, came back to this from a notification. I see the point's been made a few times.
 

bigtwin

LIFE MEMBER
Oct 29, 2009
5,171
9,811
Derby
Funster No
9,111
MH
Concorde
Exp
Since 2006
I agree wholeheartedly with the four preceding posts. 👍

Ian

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Lee337

Free Member
Sep 7, 2019
29
147
South Lincs
Funster No
63,875
MH
Don't own one yet
Exp
None, absolutely none, although I did once own a VW T2 Westie which I used overnight a few times
Ok, I'll hold my hand up & say I often used to park along the esplanade in Woolacombe in my little 1973 VW Westie & depending on the tide times would stay overnight to catch the good waves in the morning. I've even parked up & slept in the car (usually after too much to drink of an evening).

Mind you, that was 30 years ago.

More recently when I've been back to visit relatives, I've rarely been able to park on the esplanade, even first thing in the morning due to overnighters & the smell on warm days is not something you want to go with your picnic.

Quite honestly I can see both sides of the argument, it is a great view to wake up to and if you're a surfer, its an ideal spot. sadly a lot of the vans are not surfers, they're hire vans who quite honestly have little regard for others who might want to enjoy the area. A designated area further along the esplanade & perhaps opening up part of the carpark along Marine Drive for overnight use, might go some way to pleasing both locals and MH users. That is as long as there are facilities to deal with waste.

Odd how Croyde, which has better waves but a much smaller beach rarely has these problems.
 
Apr 26, 2015
2,714
6,791
Ottershaw
Funster No
36,067
MH
Hymer S820
Exp
First motorhome May 2021
Odd how Croyde, which has better waves but a much smaller beach rarely has these problems.

I think the reason that Croyde doesn't have such an issue is that the streets are narrower, so less places to park and you have one campsite with direct access to the beach and another with a shortish walk across the road to the beach. I prefer Croyde myself but we used to wander between the two quite often.

I haven't been there for many years now but I'm sad to hear that it can smell in the summer that's terrible, people can be so thoughtless sometimes.
 
Jun 20, 2020
65
106
Funster No
71,959
MH
Coachbuilt
Exp
Newbie
Last summer when the kids were off school and we allowed to move about, we used to get down to Exmouth before 8am to walk the dogs on the beach before it got busy and we used to see a lot of motorhomes parked up on Queen's drive where motorhome parking overnight (but not during the day) is banned. Now call me cynical and yes, maybe some of them had done the same as us and driven down early to miss the crowds but looking at them, I'm pretty certain that quite a few had been there overnight. There is a car park that allows overnight parking about 1/2 mile away but it's a) not level, b) doesn't have a sea view and c) closed with a barrier ridiculously early - between 4 and 7 pm depending on time of year. This is why residents get annoyed and the councils ban motorhome parking. On a brighter note - if you want to park overnight for a very reasonable charge (I think it was £5 when we stayed) Riverside car park in Bideford has the estuary on one side and a park on the other. It's a big car park so you can find a quiet spot. Other's have raved about Appledore - we tried it and moved on to Bideford about 8:30pm because it was so busy and noisy

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Apr 12, 2020
1,021
1,034
South Lincs....
Funster No
69,935
MH
Rapido 7095DF
Exp
20+ years. Previously Hymer B654 and Hymer S660 both c/w tow-bars.
It’s a list of things which are prohibited. As with any list there is a comma after each item in the list and an ‘and’ between the next to last and last item in the list. ‘Disturbances likely to cause a breach of the peace is a single (and last) item in the list. Everything in the list is prohibited
I couldn’t have said it better myself! 👍
 
Jun 10, 2010
8,427
20,061
Shrewsbury (sometimes)
Funster No
12,013
MH
N&B Clou Liner MAN
Exp
2006
The police have for years turned a blind eye to the surfer dudes in their home made vans because they didnt usually stop for long in one place and we were all young once. The problem is non surfers have twigged the situation and thought why am I paying £25/night and havent got a view like this and have to cycle in from miles away so they ve steadily added to the ranks with bigger vehicles and are staying for longer because they know they re not going to get another spot like this easily. staying longer leads to waste issues etc.

I think Devon are one of the few councils actually doing something about it by allowing overnights in more car parks in better areas for mh'ers the problem is there arent enough to cope with the boom in MH ownership. This is not actually their fault but its really not hard to deal with, many of the aires we stay on are basically gravel carparks and still charge so if more councils can get there acts together and use some of the redundant land that almost certainly exists the problem will go away and could actually become self financing. I would tackle the borne issue like NZ with public dump stations.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Coolcats

LIFE MEMBER
Jan 24, 2019
5,898
9,760
Funster No
58,207
MH
HymerCar Ayres Rock

Interesting video, wall to wall FLT
The article is a typical poor reporting the video shows that all the vans MoHo’s and cars are actually parked legally with a few bays available. Unless there is an overnight ban in place no one looks like anything illegal is going on. It does however prevent day trippers from just turning up and parking for the morning or afternoon but isn’t that the same for most seaside towns ?
 
Jun 10, 2010
8,427
20,061
Shrewsbury (sometimes)
Funster No
12,013
MH
N&B Clou Liner MAN
Exp
2006
Parking tickets soon sort that out for the majority who think paying doesn’t apply to them.
Exactly because thats all it is - a variation on parking yet whenever you talk to a councillor they seem to be fixated on toilet facilities.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Coolcats

LIFE MEMBER
Jan 24, 2019
5,898
9,760
Funster No
58,207
MH
HymerCar Ayres Rock
Exactly because thats all it is - a variation on parking yet whenever you talk to a councillor they seem to be fixated on toilet facilities.
Then the council need to provide suitable public conveniences that they have tended to close over the years and often sell off so flats ans apartments can be built !
 
Oct 9, 2019
4,912
17,051
Todmorden
Funster No
65,104
MH
Van conversion
Exp
FUNSTER in a PVC
I think she says we want to be near pubs, restaurants, cafes and shops etc
but don’t need campsite facilities like shower blocks and on site entertainment,bars etc.
must admit it is not very well put together🤔
but at least trying to make the point 😊
If I was being a bit roguish I would take that as ‘ Motorhomers like shoplifting, getting p@ssed, don’t was very often and are mostly constipate, oh and can’t be bothered to walk. 😈😈😈😈😈

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Campervan_man

Free Member
Jun 24, 2019
997
1,720
Funster No
61,896
MH
Dethleffs Globebus
Exp
2000
A few more sharks in the water would probably ease the parking congestion ? :giggle:
 

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.

Funsters who are viewing this thread

Back
Top