Success on council Aires in Scotland

lorger said:
D&G are doing the same
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That's quite a turnaround if D&G do something similar after all the no overnight parking signs they put out. I hope they do do something for visitors to this area.

We enjoyed the stopover at Girvan and would recommend if you are passing and needing somewhere to park up.
 
Motorhomer14 said:
Got this news from another post, worth spreading it around. Success for two Aires in Scotland, they will be extending the trial this year to two more sites, hoping this will kick off across the UK when councils see they can make a profit on Aires

URL
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I think the £10 is acceptable but I would restrict the stay to only 2-3 nights or they might get, near permanent summer visitors? :unsure:
 
L' Hobo said:
I think the £10 is acceptable but I would restrict the stay to only 2-3 nights or they might get, near permanent summer visitors? :unsure:
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reading the post its £5 per night and is restricted to one night only

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We have just returned from touring Brittany and Normandy.

During our trip we predominantly used “Camping-Car Park” Aires, paying between €9 and €12 pn including secure barrier entry, free fresh water, grey and black waste disposal and 6amp EHU.

So, £5 pn for a simple car park seems OK but, to me at least, £10 pn for no facilities seems excessive. It is a step in the right direction but with CLs and CSs available, with provided facilities, doubling the cost may mean that they have shot themselves in the foot.
 
Not sure what the situation is regarding local authority funding north of the border but once you are in the sunny lowlands of England, you are in the land of seriously cash strapped councils barely able to fulfil their statutory functions, let alone service stopovers for the relentless tide of campers and motorhomes that drifts around the country. I guess that the most important quote in the article is this (my emphasis on the salient point):
“Customers found the choice of location second to none and the additional facilities on offer were very well received. Demand for spaces well outstripped supply.”
I can see someone like Parking Eye or a similar outsourcing outfit knocking on council doors with an irresistible offer for how they will run their recreational parking for them and make them some money whilst creaming off a handsome profit. I will be happily surprised if local councils in the tourism hotspots in the West Country, Peak District etc come up with something cheap and cheerful but somehow I doubt it . . . .
 
maison said:
So, £5 pn for a simple car park seems OK but, to me at least, £10 pn for no facilities seems excessive. It is a step in the right direction but with CLs and CSs available, with provided facilities, doubling the cost may mean that they have shot themselves in the foot.
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Agreed, a tenner with no facilities at all is expensive, it would need to be a damn good location for a tenner.

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maison said:
So, £5 pn for a simple car park seems OK but, to me at least, £10 pn for no facilities seems excessive. It is a step in the right direction but with CLs and CSs available, with provided facilities, doubling the cost may mean that they have shot themselves in the foot.
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There are services provided at both Girvan and Ayr. Girvan even has showers you can use. Also a paid washing machine facility.
 
I don't think I'd pay £10 a night to park as I think that's expensive. If the MH 'aires' had proper waste disposal and you were able to get fresh water then that would make the cost more acceptable but I doubt all will, Girvan is the exception with fresh water and free showers. Also other vehicles don't have to pay if they just want to go to the beach for the day so hope that day visitors in MHs won't be forced to use the MH parking areas at £10 a pop.
 
irnbru said:
There are services provided at both Girvan and Ayr. Girvan even has showers you can use. Also a paid washing machine facility.
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In that case it sounds better if there are dedicated services. At £10 per night I would expect fresh water, grey waste and black waste disposal. As the U.K. tends to give 13/16amp EHU it would be unreasonable to expect free EHU in that price.
 
I really hope East Lothian Council adopt somethin like this there are lots of lovely towns down the East coast to visit. One our favourites is North Berwick and Gullane they could do something there and it doesnt need to be directly onto the beach
 
I think that unless these experiments make a profit the Councils are not going to the trouble to proceed and in the favoured spots, it's getting increasing hard to get a decent CS or CL for less than a tenner, even without a EHU.

I can only say, I would be prepared, in my PVC that cost tens of thousands of pounds, to pay £10 for a guaranteed spot near somewhere nice, as opposed to be worrying all night about who has just pulled up next to me at 02.00hrs in the morning.

While 'Wild Camping' sometime when nothing seems to be happening, if your a light sleeper like me, you lay there wondering, am I going to be mugged, moved on or my vehicle trashed by a bunch of hooligans.

It's good that we are not all the same but, I prefer a good, peaceful nights sleep! :unsure:
 
Chris Laing said:
I really hope East Lothian Council adopt somethin like this there are lots of lovely towns down the East coast to visit. One our favourites is North Berwick and Gullane they could do something there and it doesnt need to be directly onto the beach
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take them b gates down. and be re-al-is-tic. £5 per nite. with a rubbish box. should be no problem.or dont do it. that is why.its blowing
in the wind. ok.pj go for it

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Hi at £10/£12 a night and max of 2 nights and no return for 5 nights with water and dump facilities would be fine and stop a lot of the free loaders
 
dulvil said:
Glad you won’t be going, it leaves a spot for me
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I don't really get why you're being snippy? This forums getting a bit like facebook recently with the snarky comments :rolleyes::rolleyes:

And I didn't say I wouldn't be going, I said it would have to be a damn good location.
 
PaulC70 said:
I don't really get why you're being snippy? This forums getting a bit like facebook recently with the snarky comments :rolleyes::rolleyes:

And I didn't say I wouldn't be going, I said it would have to be a damn good location.
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Not snippy, it’s hard to park a car for £10 so for £10 a night to park and sleep in a motorhome is well worth it if it’s a safer location than a lay-by

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I think £10 is ok. Even aires in Spain seem to be raising prices in popular areas now but I think the councils are slightly missing the point if they are only counting the money directly from the aire in the profit calculations. The point of the aires is meant to be that it brings people to the area who spend their money locally and raises the profile of lesser known areas whilst also removing the antisocial behaviour by some wild camping.
 
We don't mind spending money locally to where we stay, but I wish the chippy at Girvan would up its game! I liked looking over the sea at Girvan, not so much the fog horn!
 
Helen Ariel said:
I think £10 is ok. Even aires in Spain seem to be raising prices in popular areas now but I think the councils are slightly missing the point if they are only counting the money directly from the aire in the profit calculations. The point of the aires is meant to be that it brings people to the area who spend their money locally and raises the profile of lesser known areas whilst also removing the antisocial behaviour by some wild camping.
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A group of Funsters meet regularly at the free motorhome parking in Hawick in the Scottish borders.Sandra irnbru collected all our receipts from our weekend stay one time and I'm sure for 15 vans it was around £2200 ,so as you say the council has to take into account money spent in the local area also.After all this is the aim of providing parking areas for motorhomes,to bring tourism and revenue to the area.
 
Pugsy said:
A group of Funsters meet regularly at the free motorhome parking in Hawick in the Scottish borders.Sandra irnbru collected all our receipts from our weekend stay one time and I'm sure for 15 vans it was around £2200 ,so as you say the council has to take into account money spent in the local area also.After all this is the aim of providing parking areas for motorhomes,to bring tourism and revenue to the area.
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Well done Sandra!
What a brilliant way of convincing a local authority of the benefits of M/H's to their town. (y)
 
Interesting arguments about the economics of this whole issue - "we bring revenue to the area" is a common one and undoubtedly must have a grain of truth assuming that people do actually get out and go an eat/drink/shop locally rather than sit all day admiring the view and watching TV.

That said, I am not sure how this value can be calculated. A Moho with two occupants filling a parking space for a day denies that space to vehicles that could be carrying four or five people - people who might otherwise make up important passing trade to the locality. Not an easy equation to work out methinks . . . . . .

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