Support the CL network

Perhaps it's about time the Club did a comprehensive member survey to establish what members views are on the use of CL's. Johnny57's group seems to suggest there is an interest in no facility CL's but the chatter on other Facebook groups seems to suggest the opposite. It would be interesting to know what advice, if any, the Club give to potential CL's on how to set up a successful CL? 

David

"interesting to know what advice, if any, the Club give to potential CL's on how to set up a successful CL?"
DavidKlye
I don't even think you have to ask it will be if you want to make any money put all what you can - hardstandings, WC/Showers, EHU etc and you will be full. It is dependant on the adviser I guess in that area. The one I had lucky was not adverse to Off-Grid sites so was not so negative.
I think the Club really need to encourage new CLs to start as Off-Grid CLs as is a great way to start up a CL without the costs of installing hookups etc etc. The CL then can improve its site to EHU or fully serviced pitches in the years to follow rather than all the cost up front!
With the rise in Britstops anf Motorhome/campers doing more free off-site camping we need to encourage them to join clubs by making cost look reasonable.

As with every poll the results receive depend on how the question was worded.

Obviously if 100 people were asked the question  "Would you visit a CL with EHU, hardstanding, toilet, showers  WIFI" then I'm sure 99 would say Yes,

However, the more important question would be to ask the  same 100 people "Would you visit a CL with EHU and grass from say May to September", it goes without saying that the positive answers would not be 99 but maybe around 50 -60 which may actually give them a better return on their investment than they could achieve providing the full package.

Spot on J57 and Mikey. The CL networks unique selling point is its huge range of Sites. If folks are grumbling about about the cost of Club Sites, then the issue is there, on the Club Sites. Trying to make CLs into mini Club Sites isn’t the answer. 

I find your sentence about advisors very interesting J57. You were indeed lucky with your advisor. Other CL owner friends have indicated to us that they were expected to spend a lot of money.

We've used CL's regularly over the last 40 years and will continue to do so for as long as possible. 

Last week I phoned the owner of our long time favourite CL to ask if he was accepting bookings for later in the year . His reply was not encouraging . Obviously he's looking for clearer guidance from the Club and we all know that for the moment he won't get it . That should not be taken as a criticism of the Club in any way .

There must be lots of CL's which only just have enough income to make them viable so given the current situation I wouldn't be surprised to see more closures. Let's hope it won't be too long before we can get back out there !

In 1984 the alternative to a hook up was a noisy  generator or as we did charge the van battery in the car boot when we went out. Now with solar panels etc. off grid is fine but a lot of sites without hook ups have shut. I installed mains equipment myself when sites with hook ups were prevented from having a reduced charge if you didn't  use them due to regulations on the resale of power.  Most of the sites now closing have hook ups, so there are other reasons for closures.

 We regularly visit Coates  farm, A cl at Much Wenlock Shropshire In a beautiful area with an abundance of attractions within a few miles £15 a night for what are effectively fully serviced pitches and its rare to find more than 2 to 3 vans on site. 

To return to my original post. Use them or lose them

I seriously hope members will support more CL's now that lockdown has been eased. I'm sure many who take social distancing seriously will do so, amongst other reasons.

Club sites or CL's? For me, it's similar to choosing between local shops or the supermarket. Go for quality and not quantity folks!

However rigorous the 'covid secure' measures, a CL will still be a lot safer than a club site.

Why do you make such a sweeping statement suggesting that all CLs are worth supporting? There are good and bad ones , beautiful and ugly, but overall I don't think  CLs are are any better or worse than a great number of other small sites - some which are linked to other organisations and some which are independent. Social distancing is about space, not whether a site is tied to a club or not. 

Back in the 1970s and 1980s we only ever used CLs. They were ideal for our young family. We then abandoned caravanning for many years when we bought a yacht. We’ve been back to caravanning again now for some years but my wife is now not very keen on CLs. All those years ago we enjoyed interacting with the farmer. Now we find we hardly ever get to see the landowner. Dropping payment off in a letter box or even paying on line. We’re often in a field with no interaction with anyone. That may seem ideal for some but my wife is a little concerned about being in the middle of nowhere with no one else around.  So we tend to use club sites so that my wife feels more secure. Illogical perhaps but that’s out choice these days.