Campsites closing at the end of the 2024 season

RowenaBCAMC replied on 11/07/2024 11:22

Posted on 11/07/2024 11:22

In recent years the Club has acquired some fantastic new campsites for members including Dornafield in Devon, Carnon Downs in Cornwall, Bridport in Dorset and Cayton on the Yorkshire coast. Collectively these campsites provide over 160,000 additional pitch nights per year for members. This year the Club is also busy improving Edinburgh, Godrevy in Cornwall, Tredegar House near Newport, Blackpool South, Steamer Quay in Devon and Old Hartley in Tyne & Wear, with new hardstanding pitches, additional serviced and premium pitches, new playgrounds, multi-use games areas, shower blocks, inclusive bathrooms and road resurfacing. 


Sadly, a handful of our Club campsites have underperformed for a number of years, with the amount of members staying at these campsites reducing annually. Operating these campsites has become unsustainable and puts more pressure on other Club campsites to return a positive revenue contribution back to the Club to enable investment in the existing campsite network and the purchase of additional campsites to enhance the network. 


As such, we have taken the difficult decision to close Bromyard Downs, Broomfield Farm, Dockray Meadow, Gwern-y-Bwlch and Nunnykirk Club Campsites at the end of the 2024 season. Combined, these campsites provide around 250 pitches to members, which is less than 1% of our UK Club campsite network pitch availability.


While closing campsites will be disappointing for some members, our UK Club campsite network provides approximately 180,000 more available pitch nights than in 2018 across fantastic locations that are popular with the wider membership.


Thank you to those of you who have supported these campsites over the years. We hope you will enjoy exploring our UK campsite network and finding a new favourite location and Club campsite.

Tinwheeler replied on 19/07/2024 08:59

Posted on 19/07/2024 07:38 by the browser

As members don’t we get to have a say in the decisions / running of the club 

Posted on 19/07/2024 08:59

Of course you do. That’s why you get to vote for the council members of your choice to make decisions on your behalf. You also have the opportunity of attending and/or raising points at the AGM.

Cornersteady replied on 19/07/2024 09:20

Posted on 19/07/2024 09:20

as for non facility sites bring more on

If only others, and especially those that use club sites, thought like you then the club would. 

LLM replied on 19/07/2024 11:53

Posted on 16/07/2024 22:23 by Wherenext

Definitely Dutch as well TG.

We've  stayed at a site near Rotterdam after getting off a ferry. They didn't open the gates in the morning until 10.00 laughing

Is it just me or has the font shrunk even further?

Posted on 19/07/2024 11:53

It has reduced further.  Even though I have a very large screen I'm having to write my comments in Word then cut and paste as I can't see to do it directly. 

mickysf replied on 19/07/2024 12:12

Posted on 19/07/2024 12:12

No problem doing it directly, just use two fingers to expand the page, on my iPad, and I can have the font as large as I please.Dead simple. Hope this works for others.

Hja replied on 19/07/2024 13:00

Posted on 19/07/2024 08:59 by Tinwheeler

Of course you do. That’s why you get to vote for the council members of your choice to make decisions on your behalf. You also have the opportunity of attending and/or raising points at the AGM.

Posted on 19/07/2024 13:00

But we never hear from the council members. A very truncated report of council meetings in the magazine. I would like to hear what council members have been arguing for. How can we decide how to vote for if we have no information from them during the year?

Cornersteady replied on 19/07/2024 15:50

Posted on 19/07/2024 13:00 by Hja

But we never hear from the council members. A very truncated report of council meetings in the magazine. I would like to hear what council members have been arguing for. How can we decide how to vote for if we have no information from them during the year?

Posted on 19/07/2024 15:50

Full details online as well. 

Personally for me it makes no difference who runs the club and how they do it so long as it delivers what I want, and I would suspect for thousands of other club site users. I wonder how many on sites could actually name any council member?

LLM replied on 20/07/2024 12:19

Posted on 19/07/2024 12:12 by mickysf

No problem doing it directly, just use two fingers to expand the page, on my iPad, and I can have the font as large as I please.Dead simple. Hope this works for others.

Posted on 20/07/2024 12:19

It doesn't work on my laptop. 😢  Does the incompetence of the CAMC IT department know no bounds?

Fozzie replied on 20/07/2024 14:59

Posted on 14/07/2024 12:16 by DavidKlyne

Sites like Broomfield Farm create a perfect storm for the Club. First off, its in the middle of nowhere, accessed by a narrow road with no footpath. Therefore it won't be as popular with motorhomes, we are now told they make up half the membership. The price in peak season is just £23  a night for a couple on a hardstanding pitch including electricity so comparable with many CL's, so hardly bad value? If they reduced the price to £15 a night they would have to have a third more customers to break even with the current prices. Despite many of us saying we would be happy to use such sites if there were more of them it looks as if the evidence is against us. I imagine the Club would be happy to break even but draw the line at making a loss?

David

Posted on 20/07/2024 14:59

David

Just following on from a couple of points in your post. Yes access to site is awkward, but once you are there, there are lovely nearly all off road walking, especially to the village of Chiddingly, with its lovely old country pub. I have no means of knowing if this site makes a profit or loss, but I would be very surprised if it is one of the worse in the network.The peace and quietness was one of its main attractions.

 

The other issue coupled with the Camping and Caravanning Club this is yet another site lost in the South East.Once sites are lost, there lost, I would think locals must be concerned now  if it  will  go for housing.

This Club has always stated it is for members, but I do not feel they have all our interests, when closing sites like these.

DavidKlyne replied on 20/07/2024 15:29

Posted on 20/07/2024 15:29

Trouble is Fozzie is the walk to the pub you mention is two miles away. If you are fit and don't have any hip and knee problems perhaps that is just a gentle stroll but for many of us it would be a struggle so probably another reason for not going? 

I saw on a Facebook Group that someone had started a petition to try and save the site. I think the Club would be more convinced by bums on seats?

I take what you mean about losing sites. A few years ago we stayed at Northbrook Farm and at the time the Club were in serious discussion with the local Council about upgrading the site. The Club had in mind creating a site with serviced hardstanding but no facility block. They also had storage on site. Initially the Council seemed to object to the size of the storage (obviously a storage facility helps a site survive). The original plan was to make the site slightly smaller with housing on the rest of the land. Then the Council decided that housing was more important than camping and we lost the whole site. 

David

near Malvern Hills Club Campsite Member photo by Andrew Cole

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