New Aire-anyone fancy investing? (1 Viewer)

[jongood]

I do wonder at times why this site attracts so much negativity at others suggestions. A Community Interest Company or Community Share Company have more hoops to jump through than any scam artist would ever complicate. I see nothing wrong in a community wishing to improve its offering to the public.

There are a lot us who want UK to have aires, like the French a bit of remarked car park and maybe a dump tank. If the council's get it in their heads that its a bespoke build at £250k it will have no chance

 

[Pickygame]

There are a lot us who want UK to have aires, like the French a bit of remarked car park and maybe a dump tank. If the council's get it in their heads that its a bespoke build at £250k it will have no chance

Well that's a really good argument against a community wanting to invest in itself.

 

[CWH]

I think many posters on this thread may need to realise that people in remote communities actually know what they're doing. They're well versed with how to survive and tbh aren't actually trying to serve the motorhoming community but to protect their environments from us. Be grateful that places like this are responding to tourist overload by trying to accommodate us rather than ban us.
As for not wanting anything other than water & waste - how selfish! Motorhoming isn't the only form of camping and touring that goes on, and EVERYONE needs to be accommodated, even those of us who might visit the area for the day by car. The community isn't big enough to have these in separate locations - how many posters on this thread, if they haven't actually visited, have looked it up on something like Google Maps satellite view?

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[Ivory55]

There are a lot us who want UK to have aires, like the French a bit of remarked car park and maybe a dump tank. If the council's get it in their heads that its a bespoke build at £250k it will have no chance

May be when a council is involved you can not have just a bit of this and just a bit of that. The base that they put down I guess will have minimum standards etc as they don’t want to be sued for something further down the line, and these minimum standards come at a price.

 

[EzeeRider]

I think many posters on this thread may need to realise that people in remote communities actually know what they're doing. They're well versed with how to survive and tbh aren't actually trying to serve the motorhoming community but to protect their environments from us. Be grateful that places like this are responding to tourist overload by trying to accommodate us rather than ban us.
As for not wanting anything other than water & waste - how selfish! Motorhoming isn't the only form of camping and touring that goes on, and EVERYONE needs to be accommodated, even those of us who might visit the area for the day by car. The community isn't big enough to have these in separate locations - how many posters on this thread, if they haven't actually visited, have looked it up on something like Google Maps satellite view?

Then it needs to be made clear they want the investment for more than just the motorhome community and it is not just a parking facility for motorhomes. My point is they are not going to make any money out of the majority of motorhome owners by spending more to build showers and toilets.
ezee

 

[Pechris]

Man the van, I think what you are suggesting is a brilliant idea! I for one would be very willing to get involved.

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[Pickygame]

I think many posters on this thread may need to realise that people in remote communities actually know what they're doing. They're well versed with how to survive and tbh aren't actually trying to serve the motorhoming community but to protect their environments from us. Be grateful that places like this are responding to tourist overload by trying to accommodate us rather than ban us.
As for not wanting anything other than water & waste - how selfish! Motorhoming isn't the only form of camping and touring that goes on, and EVERYONE needs to be accommodated, even those of us who might visit the area for the day by car. The community isn't big enough to have these in separate locations - how many posters on this thread, if they haven't actually visited, have looked it up on something like Google Maps satellite view?

Well said

 

[spikehcm681]

Aire – Arisaig Community Trust

www.arisaigcommunitytrust.org.uk

I have a question (and I really do not know the answer) can members of the public read these postings – and others on this site? I can’t remember if I had access before I became a member.

I, like many others, have been critical of local councils for not providing Aires. I live in Eden District (Cumbria) and have always thought that and Aire in Penrith would be ideally situated for stop-offs to/from Scotland and other destinations in the North of England. This is an evidence based opinion as a result of running a B&B 5 miles from the M6 for 20 years.

I’ve spent a lot of time on the West Coast of Scotland over the last 50 years and am aware of the impact the marketing the North West 500 has had. So I’m pleased to see one community taking a lead on trying to help themselves – and us. We wish them luck. I wish my local council and others would do something.

I would hope that all those who have commented have read what the Arisaig Community have to say. If you haven’t yet had a chance to do so here it is :-

A Potential Aire for Arisaig​

Background

The last few years have seen an increase in the number of motorhomes visiting the West Highlands of Scotland and there has been little in the way of added infrastructure to support these visitors. Communities all over Scotland are now experiencing a number of unwelcome issues resulting from this increase in traffic. Arisaig Community Trust (ACT) are therefore working on a project to try to address two specific problems in our local area:

• The disposal of chemical waste from motorhome toilets
• The provision of an overnight parking site as an alternative to the village centre

The Project

The project we are working on will create an “aire” (a motorhome service area) on the outskirts of the village, a ten minute walk from the centre. The site will have hard standings for up to thirty motorhomes and full facilities for the disposal of waste – chemical waste from toilets, grey water from sinks and showers and also rubbish disposal including glass recycling. Fresh water will be available to top up tanks. Finances allowing, we will also construct an amenity block containing two public toilets, a changing places toilet, two showers and a self-service laundry. In line with the aire philosophy no bookings will be possible and no camping behaviour will be allowed i.e. no awnings, no tables and chairs, no BBQs or fires and no parties. Stays will be limited, probably to one night initially.

Finances

Our estimates indicate that the total cost of the project will be about £250,000. This is a colossal amount of money for a small community to raise. However, we have already received some modest grant funding and have applied for more. Nevertheless we estimate that we need to raise at least £100,000 in capital from other sources. Once operating the aire will be financially sustainable, we will have a part time employee to run it and it will generate a modest community benefit income stream to be spent on other projects.

A Community Share Company

To raise the necessary capital we now want to know if a Community Business is of sufficient interest to raise the necessary funds. In short ACT will establish a separate trading company to build and operate the aire. It will have its own board of directors who will be responsible for running the aire. Normally a community is defined as either a geographical community such as the village of Arisaig and surroundings or a community of interest such as the motorhome community. It is possible that our new company will be a hybrid of the two. If you want to know more about Community Shares then please visit Your Community Shares Journey.

The Offer

Our current idea is to offer £50 shares in the new company up to a limit of £10,000 per individual. Community Share Companies are structured in such a way that each member only has one vote, no matter how many shares they own. I.e. the person with one share has the same say as the person with 200. Directors have to be shareholders.

We plan to offer a 2% return on investment, at the Director’s discretion, payable annually starting at the end of the second year of operation. Shares will be withdrawable, again at the Director’s discretion and subject to funds being available.

Interested

At the moment we are simply trying to gauge interest in our proposal. [My bold type - Spike] The establishment of the community benefit company will involve considerable effort and we don’t want to start without some certainty that we’ll succeed. We are therefore seeking expressions of interest from potential investors. This is not a commitment to invest, that comes later! If we get sufficient interest we will set up the company, produce a prospectus and make a formal share offer. Our primary target audience are PH39 residents and the motorhome community, maybe 750,000 of you.

So if you are interested in investing please send an email to –

aire@arisaigcommunitytrust.org.uk

Please state:

1 How much you might be willing to invest, in multiples of £50 and

2. Whether or not you would be willing to consider serving on the board of directors.

If you have any questions or suggestions please use the same email address.

We will retain your email address solely for the purpose of updating you about the project and sending you a share prospectus, assuming we get that far. Your details will not be shared with a third party.

My impression/suspicion is that this offer is, in part, aimed at us – the Motorhome Community.

Subject to a little more scrutiny my wife and I will be taking up the offer of a few shares.

P.S. Our van does have a porta -potty but we welcome the idea of providing toilets for those in our Community who rely on public facilities.

P.P.S. The Aires we’ve used all over Europe range from a parking place to full facililties accessed by a credit-card controlled barrier. A new Aire near our over-wintering campsite in Portugal had a concierge and free wifi!!

Cheers

 

[Conrad J]

Great idea, My maths are terrible. But I wouldn't invest with someone who's maths were as good as theirs. 750,000 x £50.

Don't think you could have read their plan properly. They are hoping some of the 750,000 motor caravan owners will invest. They want to raise £100,000 through individual subscriptions, so need 2,000 of us to invest £50 each, or fewer of us if people invest more each.
Regarding the facilities they plan to offer, this is a new venture so I don't think we should be picky about their plans, rather support a local community project hoping to welcome us to their beautiful area and boost their residents economy.

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[Jim]

Don't think you could have read their plan properly. T

Did you not read my later post?

 

[Conrad J]

Did you not read my later post?

No Jim, sorry I didn't, too many posts to plough through! But I've looked at it now, not sure the community in Arisaig would be basing their estimates on what your friend happened to pay for a barn hardstanding! I'm sure they've done their calculations with a fair degree of accuracy - many well be that the locals are doing much of the work themselves for the benefit of all.

 

[spikehcm681]

Did you not read my later post?

I did Jim - and saw that you'd spotted your mistake.

Nobody has responded to my question about the visibility of our posts to the outside world. Can the world and his wife read this? I ask because I wonder what someone from Arisaig would think about "us".

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[PaddyM]

Ive responded and offered to invest and i don’t even tour in Scotland , just think its a fab idea that needs encouraging .

 

[Conrad J]

I did Jim - and saw that you'd spotted your mistake.

Nobody has responded to my question about the visibility of our posts to the outside world. Can the world and his wife read this? I ask because I wonder what someone from Arisaig would think about "us".

My reply to you, Spike, would be what my wife calls Facebook rules - don't use on-line anonymity to say something you wouldn't say to someone in person.

Have emailed Arisaig to show interest, look forward to going there. There's another loch nearby with a monster, as well as lovely beach.

 

[Jim]

not sure the community in Arisaig would be basing their estimates on what your friend happened to pay for a barn hardstanding!

Why would they? Someone said it was a lot of money to raise. I used that story to illustrate that concrete is expensive so they might need to raise a lot.

Room 12 might be free

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[Jim]

I’d be very happy to contribute.

I will keep an eye on it and will likley contribute personally. While I might encourage others I would not want to do an Official MHF thing. Holding others money is so problematic and not without risk.

 

[spikehcm681]

My reply to you, Spike, would be what my wife calls Facebook rules - don't use on-line anonymity to say something you wouldn't say to someone in person.

Have emailed Arisaig to show interest, look forward to going there. There's another loch nearby with a monster, as well as lovely beach.

Thanks Conrad.

My concern is that anyone "from the outside" reading some of the comments that appear on MHF (about this and other topics) might get an impression about Motorhomers which is at odds with the views of the (sometimes silent) majority.

A canny Arisaig resident might use this, and other Forums, to find out more about the views of Motorhomers - in the same way that I've just used Google to read the minutes of their Community Trust meetings to find out about where they're coming from..

"We" all know that Motorhomes in the North West of Scotland is a hot topic amongst our Community and theirs. It's a complex issue because, amongst other things, some residents depend on Tourism and others see visitors as an intrusion. Some Motorhomers are of the view that "They need our money" whereas, in reality some of them don't.

So I'm really pleased to see that "They" are responding positively. The Arisaig Community is not alone - I found this about Mallaig (just up the road) :-

New facilities installed to improve visitor experience in Mallaig

New facilities installed to improve visitor experience in Mallaig - Mallaig toilets

www.highland.gov.uk

We (as in my wife and I) have responded to their enquiry saying that we would be interested in investing.

It would be useful if we could find out if other Scottish Communities are looking to provide Aires?

 

[Jim]

My concern is that anyone "from the outside" reading some of the comments that appear on MHF (about this and other topics) might get an impression about Motorhomers which is at odds with the views of the (sometimes silent) majority.

How do you know the views of the sometimes silent majority?

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[Potty]

Thanks Conrad.

My concern is that anyone "from the outside" reading some of the comments that appear on MHF (about this and other topics) might get an impression about Motorhomers which is at odds with the views of the (sometimes silent) majority.

A canny Arisaig resident might use this, and other Forums, to find out more about the views of Motorhomers - in the same way that I've just used Google to read the minutes of their Community Trust meetings to find out about where they're coming from..

"We" all know that Motorhomes in the North West of Scotland is a hot topic amongst our Community and theirs. It's a complex issue because, amongst other things, some residents depend on Tourism and others see visitors as an intrusion. Some Motorhomers are of the view that "They need our money" whereas, in reality some of them don't.

So I'm really pleased to see that "They" are responding positively. The Arisaig Community is not alone - I found this about Mallaig (just up the road) :-

New facilities installed to improve visitor experience in Mallaig

New facilities installed to improve visitor experience in Mallaig - Mallaig toilets

www.highland.gov.uk

We (as in my wife and I) have responded to their enquiry saying that we would be interested in investing.

It would be useful if we could find out if other Scottish Communities are looking to provide Aires?

There are some. Have a look at the CAMPRA web site or Facebook page. They are actively campaigning for aires all over the U.K. and are working with CampingCarParks to identify places that they could develop.

 

[eddie]

If I chip in, after independence does it make me Scottish or a resident?

I already follow one crap Rugby team, couldn’t cope with another team of duffers!

 

[Gellyneck]

I already follow one crap Rugby team, couldn’t cope with another team of duffers!

but at least once a year you're guaranteed to win one game!

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[CWH]

It would be useful if we could find out if other Scottish Communities are looking to provide Aires?

Yes there are a number particularly in Highland area. Some are already built, some have planning, some are waiting for planning. Most are being put forward by Community Development groups. Some are totally self-funding while others use funding from local individuals and interested parties. There's sometimes grant funding atm through RTIF and other sources if the community can show a good case and that the project would be supported (by getting some individual cash in, such as this project). Some of the funding requires a supporting project eg our bid ref a visitor centre required us to also build local housing.

 

[spikehcm681]

How do you know the views of the sometimes silent majority?

How do you know the views of the sometimes silent majority?

I don't Jim - but I hope that some of the comments (see underlining in my post) aren't.
You will, no doubt, have some stats on what proportion of total postings are made by a relatively small number of contributers?

 

[supervario]

WHo would even want to invest in scotland there go in down the independence road so could be mandatery to wear a kilt shortly and take bagpipe leson never mind the sporan goverments been fishy for years sturgeon and salmon mind you if ye like full malt mabe

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[eddie]

That post is very silent!

 

[fat haggis]

WHo would even want to invest in scotland there go in down the independence road so could be mandatery to wear a kilt shortly and take bagpipe leson never mind the sporan goverments been fishy for years sturgeon and salmon mind you if ye like full malt

Your name is going on da list

 

[supervario]

Is nt there a s misssin of that haggis

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