Advice to a Prospective CL Owner

I actually don’t disagree it would seem that Ehu is a prerequisite these days.   But it must add considerably to your costs.  Both in terms of electricity consumed and infrastructure cost of installation and maintainence.  It seems to me the people are demanding clubsite facilties on CLs at bargain basement prices.  Logic says that for equivalent facilities a CL should charge more than a clubsite simply because it doesn’t have the same economies of scale.  

Birch hill btw is an excellent CL and very easy stroll into Ellesmere.  It is rightly very popular.  

There are different models. Some CLs stand alongside a small commercial site, and CL users benefit from the extra facilities put in. We stopped on a CL that had put in 10 seasonal pitches couple of years ago. CL visitors could choose to use the superb wetrooms, which were provided for a small fee (coin boxes gave hot water). Obviously the owners had gone for further planning permission for the seasonal pitches. Another was a small private site that had 20 pitches separate from CL area, and did storage, with owners towing vans on and off for visitors. Both the CL area, and the private area had shower and loos. Again you paid a small fee for shower if you wanted to use it. This was all grass, good sandy foundations. And again adults only, mainly because it had a deep fishing lake. Both these examples were thriving, in prime visitor territory. Then there are the CLs with alternative holiday accommodation alongside, such as B&B or cottages. Even the Club has invested in this approach at some Club Sites. All depends if the Planning Application is approved. The examples I give all provide CL pitches at a good rate £11-14 range, with a little bit more if folks want to pay for a shower. But that’s optional.

CL network needs to be as diverse as possible.

May I come back to what I said earlier about location.

One of my sons owns (with finance from shareholders) about 7 or 8 independent, good quality bar/restaurants. With similar investment, similar design, similar quality menus, similar management and similar standards, some have made him very rich,  and some have been an absolute financial flop. And it's all been to do with location, location, location. 

Prospective CL owners and site owners can perhaps learn from that. 

A CL that supplies restaurant food, excellent idea👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻😎

I know of a lovely CL which is on a vineyard and has a 'cafe' and farm shop attached, lovely. 🍷😋

Oh, and it's not 'over there'!

I'm one of those people that uses CLs a lot but I wouldn't dream in this day and age of going to a site where there wasn't electricity. Things (and me) have moved on and although our van is now 10 years old I love the ease of simply arriving and plugging in and I get hot water, cold food out of the fridge, heat and if it's raining the TV! . 

You don’t really belong on CT P56, you are way to normal & honest. The general trend is to BS, big up everything in your life & flaunt your education/money/job et al. PS-you so need to moan too😂😂😂

I honestly don't think that they would get any idea. We stayed on a Cl two years ago which was nearly fully booked all season. Two years before that the owner was about to close after being open for many years and getting fewer and fewer bookings to the point of a couple of months having none. A friend suggested putting electricity on site and from there she went from strength to strength. Not being a caravanner herself she had not appreciated what most modern caravanners want/need.

To attract me to use a CL it would first and foremost be near something of interest, village, town,country house by foot/bike or on a bus route. It would need the minimum of electrics and level pitches, preferably hardstandings. On the point about hardstandings and planning permission. One way round this would be to make the access  road into the CL slightly wider so that in wet conditions a motorhome could put their  front wheels on the road, this might do away with the need for complete hardstandings? Water and waste disposal I imagine would be taken for granted. I don't need toilet or shower blocks as I have all those facilities in my van. Access to the site should not be down a long single track road and the access into the site should be wide enough. I don't ask for a lot I have only ever stayed on a handful of CL's but this was one of my favourites  http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/GaleriversideCL.htm

David

A 'husband and wife team' could run what in effect is two separate CLs on their land and so double the potential occupancy. I know one such farm which has done this, the two 'fields' are separated only by the farm's access lane running between them. Both seem to be fairly well occupied in the summer months although we have a preference for the west side site as the views are wonderful.