CL Closures

Until you get set up on your all hardstanding ehu Site (cl/cs,is cc/ccc  without the umbrella of either club with the need to get permission first could be a problem and then who would know about you

I’ve no idea about numbers but, if you have back copies of the magazine, I think they are listed in there. I think the overall number is declining, so more leave than join. I don’t think you have to be a CC member to run a CL and I don’t think CL owners pay the Club anything. If you set up outside the CC umbrella, you’d need planning permission but you’d be able to host more than five units a night.

Until you get set up on your all hardstanding ehu Site (cl/cs,is cc/ccc  without the umbrella of either club with the need to get permission first could be a problem and then who would know about you

Write your comments here...the reason I was asking is that a CL that I will using in July has done just that, and he will be saving money, also he can take non members and there are a few of them around, has he see's it win win, how many have gone the Same  route, there seem to be more closures than new in the mag, so the question is how many use cc to get up and running then go it alone.

Until you get set up on your all hardstanding ehu Site (cl/cs,is cc/ccc  without the umbrella of either club with the need to get permission first could be a problem and then who would know about you

Write your comments here...the reason I was asking is that a CL that I will using in July has done just that, and he will be saving money, also he can take non members and there are a few of them around, has he see's it win win, how many have gone the Same  route, there seem to be more closures than new in the mag, so the question is how many use cc to get up and running then go it alone.

...He must have got planning permision from local council as before that his cl would have been covered by the cc certificate

ps ,there have been some AS sites that tried that but i notice the names are back under the cc banner

Whichever way it is sliced the CL network is shrinking inexorably. 4 new CLs this month with 12 closures. That sort of ratio has been a pattern over much of the past two or three years.

I hope the Club is doing something to identify common causes.

It does seem a shame that the number of CLs is dwindling. 

How many are "basic"? 

How many have upgraded to full sites

I noted in a post earlier that a cl has now got 7 hardstands?next to leave/??? 

We stayed on a brand new private site last year. Smashing place, with 12 van/MH pitches, and a separate area for another 12 tents. We had a nice chat with the owners, and they looked at the option of going via  a Club, or via Local Authority. They went LA route, but had to jump through a lot of hoops and commit a lot of capital to doing certain things, such as putting in road surfaces Etc..... The impression we got was that setting up via a Club (CC or CandCC) was easier initially, but limited in pitch numbers, but would give a good grounding into what to expect.

We have also stayed on at least three ex CLs that have gone it alone after an initial period with the CC. They now offer more pitches, but have very good standards probably gained under the CC umbrella.

In terms of why are more CLs closing then being set up? Well from a personal perspective, I think that this is down to the changing requirements of the vast majority of members. Gone are the days when a nice field, a tap, a CDP point and a dustbin meant a glorious chance for a cut price stay in a lovely area, making the most of whatever facilities you had paid for in your van. Nowadays, more and more people want/expect CLs to provide HS, EHU, Toilets, showers, service pitches, wifi, an approach road smooth as glass, etc... A lot of CL owners in the past ran a CL as something extra to their core business, say farming, but now they are a business enterprise in their own right, one that requires significant expenditure to satisfy today's fickle visitor.

If you look under the CL section in UK holidays all the details and regulations about setting up a CL are there (the main advantage is no planning or licence needed for just 5 vans.) I would imagine we lose quite a few CLs when they change hands, buyers of a property may not want to run a CL. I haven't got the December CC magazine but are the reasons for closure still given? I think, in an abbreviated form, they used to be.