I'm Puzzled

JohnM20 replied on 08/05/2019 12:14

Posted on 08/05/2019 12:14

My guess is that the only people to anwser this puzzle will be someone at HQ. We all know that CLs are for a maximum of five caravans / MHs but equally we all know that this number is sometimes, if not frequently, abused by some CL owners. Whilst there is always the excuse that there are 6, 7, 8 EHUs "because we need to rest the grass on some of the pitches" how does that excuse work when all the pitches are hard standings? That's the puzzle.

I'm assuming that CLs are inspected on a regular basis by club staff be this every year or two or even longer, (perhaps I'm wrong in this assumption), but surely they can count. The other assumption that must be made is that the club are actually condoning this increased use. These are the points that only the club management can answer.

Personally, an increase to six or maybe seven outfits, providing there is adequate space, is acceptable to me although I know some will shoot me down. I'd sooner a CL owner do this rather than increase site fees due to ever increasing costs, not least of which electricity, which must otherwise surely be making the viability of a CL in question. We cannot afford to keep losing them from the network.Taking an average of £15 per night, the difference between having 5 outfits or six outfits could prevent an increase increase in the cost per pitch of £2.50 per night.

Whilst commenting on space, we were on a CL described as being 1 acre. Although this CL had 7 hard-standing pitches it wasn't crowded BUT the actual pitching area was, in my estimation, only about half that. The rest of it was just a grass field. Being adjacent to a grass farm field separated only by a wire fence it didn't make the CL seem any bigger.  We have also been to a CL which was effectively a smallish clearing in a small wood but the area was given as the whole, not just the pitching area. This can be a bit misleading.

 

DavidKlyne replied on 16/05/2019 09:51

Posted on 15/05/2019 22:39 by peedee

Isn't there a fear that to press for change to the act of 1960 will result in a backlash and the possibble loss of the concession altogether. Less of a risk might be to turn a blind eye, as now, to those owners who accept more than 5 outfits.

peedee

Posted on 16/05/2019 09:51

I am not suggesting we "press for change" but just that we discuss it and that discussion might come to the conclusion that we are best to leave it as is. We are all stakeholders when it comes to such things. What concerns me is that some think there are Machiavellian forces out there looking for the opportunity to rescind the Act at a moment's provocation. Surely this can't be the case and to what end? We seem to be at a pivotal time in our history where farmers will lose subsidies provided by the EU with some uncertainties as to what the replacement package will look like. If I were a farmer I am not sure I would trust any UK Government to continue such replacement subsidies in the longer term so any extra income stream would be welcome? I would have thought there should be some sort of review process in place which does not operate in a state of fear of the sweets being taken off the child!

David

Tinwheeler replied on 16/05/2019 10:12

Posted on 16/05/2019 10:12

I remember DSB’s words on this. They were effectively saying not to rock the boat. As a council member, I reckon he has his ear to the ground. 

Stuh01 replied on 10/07/2019 18:51

Posted on 09/05/2019 14:40 by CLMaddie

Hi JohnM20

Thank you for your post, when setting up CL sites we do not encourage more than 5 hard standing pitches, however, as mentioned by some members, some CL sites have the space to offer pitching options. Whilst we are responsible for certificating a site, there must be no more than 5 vans on the site at any one time, whatever the layout.

Our CL sites are visited by a CL Adviser every year but with a small team of volunteers it is hard for us to police the 5 van rule without the help of our Members. The CL owners are aware of the 5 van rule and that we do not under any circumstances condone exceeding the number and would ask our Members to report this to HO for investigation. Exceeding the 5 van limit can be a serious health and safety risk, as well as a breach of the exemption that allows us to certificate these sites each year.

The exempted status privilege which is regulated by Natural England, which enables us to operate CLs, comes from the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960. That privilege applies not only to our CL operation, but also to all of our temporary sites and the more than 2,500 rallies that our Centres organise across the Country every year. The fact that the Act has survived intact for 59 years is a credit to all of the Exempted Organisations, who approach their activities in such a responsible manner through their codes of conduct and the behaviour of their members.

We need to be very careful that any argument for an increase in the number of pitches on a CL is not just viewed as a back door way of getting around the site licensing regime, which is a compliance requirement for the operators of commercial sites.  Indeed, many of our members enjoy staying on CLs because they offer a more intimate experience and they would not necessarily wish to see them increasing in size. 

The Club’s focus is on doing all that we can to grow the number of CLs, not the size of individual CLs,  so that we have a balanced coverage across the country for all our members to enjoy.

Thanks

Maddie

Posted on 10/07/2019 18:51

Maybe the club focus on growing the number of CL's is wrong and maybe it should be on making sure the existing CL's are more viable / more viable.

I own a CL and I do stick to the 5 van rule but other organisations (such as Freedom Camping Club) are so much moire flexible in their approach.

For example I cannot have a single tent on my CL even if they are in the same group as a caravan or Motor Home guests. Why???

This is just one example of inflexibility and why more CL's will be lost to other organisations or just close as it is not viable in the current format,

I am not saying that my CL is not viable but some people use the CL to make or supplement the income

The club needs to modernize its approach in my opinion!

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