Use of service points

you surely aren't expecting CC members to introduce change ....  🙄

there'd be queueing motorhomes all round the site roads .... 😉😉

This very question was asked at the last AGM and this was the official Club response:-

Given the national lack of facilities and the increasing popularity of campervans and motorhomes, should the Club permit the use of water and waste disposal facilities on Club sites and CLs for members who are not staying (for a suitable charge)?

As Club members we need to encourage responsible tourism. With the exception of Scotland, in general terms, you must stay on licenced sites, or with landowners with permission by law - wild camping is not legal. Therefore our focus is on providing a range of full facility, and non-facility sites together with CLs and centre rallies to meet the needs of all members.

I suspect its also not quite as simple as you imagine. In order to pay the reception has to be staffed and they are often closed for a couple of hours in the morning whilst staff clean the toilet blocks. I doubt they would want people using such a service at the busy arrival time so therefore the hours in which this sort of service could be offered is very restricted without a reorganisation of the staff day and then one would have to question if for the small amount of money it would bring to the Club whether it was worth it?

David 

Don't blame the members. It's the hierarchy you need to convince.

M on T, have you ever tried approaching a CL owner and asking the question? My gut instinct is that they could be far more amenable.

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David, another example of the club staffing model (and regimented timetabling of duties) preventing any other form of model, even one that would generate cash.

the site I'm on now (in France) allows this practice, as does innumerable others.

a van pulls up outside the barrier, chap walks to office and pays Madame, the barrier is raised, the van drives the 50m to the MHSP, empties and fills and then moves on without disrupting a soul on site.

you mention 'busy times' but surely this a creation of a strictly adhered to arrival time, everyone arrives at once...in France there is no 'bow wave', the site might be 'busy' but the arrivals are spread throughout the day with Madame rarely having to deal with more than one (possibly two) at once...and one of these might be someone wishing to spend money on a refill.

on the site website it lists "technical stop for motorhome @ €6.20". With the (super thrifty) French prepared to pay this sort of fee, surely the club is missing a big trick.

again, a limited Club understanding of motorhoming requirements leading to poor design of MHSP and their placement makes this seemingly simple task (elsewhere) beyond the club's comprehension.

Bizzare.

"again, a limited Club understanding of motorhoming requirements leading to poor design of MHSP and their placement makes this seemingly simple task (elsewhere) beyond the club's comprehension."

Hi BB, I am often told, by MH owning friends and acquaintances, that all one needs, to make it work compared to towing a van, is a little more planning-site location, shopping, public transport etc.

Yet posts in this thread seem to suggest that people don't want to plan, when using "officially designated motorhome stops" but rather want others, the club, to plan to cater for their needs.

Like you I use my van abroad and value the freedom from rules & regs, but I don't expect what I experience abroad to be replicated here.

Allan, I think what's being said here is that those (like yourself and many others on CT) have a wide ranging experience of how things are done in many places.

I don't see anything wrong with folk pulling together all the best elements they've come across wherever that might be.

you can't believe how frustrating it is to have a club MHSP sited just beyond the office on the one way system and you have to drive all the way round the site to get there to use it and then all the way round again to get off site...and the club wants to reduce site traffic? The use of many French and Spanish sites have revealed the optimal point for such a service that allows not only incumbents to use it on the way out but for passing traffic to use it without bothering guests.

this is just one example of best practice wherever it may be...

I use all sorts of sites during the course of a year, and even on a single trip, from full fat sites to parking spaces, but have never once needed to resort to the sort of habits some will have us believe is de rigeur for those who dare drive a MH..

MH users need far far less in the way of infrastructure than those in caravans yet the offering from the club is their all or nothing.

I see nothing wrong with members of their own club requesting to use the MHSP of any club site...perhaps at a certain price, perhaps at certain times...

I find it annoying when MHers are cast as pariahs for 'wild camping, leaving waste everywhere' yet when they wish to make proper use of waste facilities at their own club (which has many, many such facilities) the club doesn't want to be involved.

possibly a 'season ticket' over and above the membership could be offered to those wishing to 'drop in' at their club for a few minutes...but I doubt it.

 

It is wrong to say the Club won't allow you to use the motorhome facilities. All you have to do is to pay for a one night stay and you can use the motorhome service point as much as you like and stay as long as you like within that 24 hour period

OK I know nobody would really do that. All I did with my post above was to point out the known Club attitude to the original questioner, plus adding a bit more information on what the probable difficulties would be. My own personal views are not necessarily opposed to the idea. However the people that want such changes seem to expect the Club to change its whole MO to accommodate an undefined demand. As BB points out many sites don't lend themselves to easy use of such facilities even for those staying on site! I don't think the Club's staffing model is going to change anytime soon so further discussion on that is a bit pointless. The Club is a bit like a large tanker which takes ages to stop or to change course. I think there would have to be a lot more evidence that there is a demand, from members, for a change in the view on this subject expressed at the last AGM. 

David

 

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