equitable Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 What do fellow motorhomes think about the use by some councils and car park owners restricting access to motorhomes? Do you think some provision should be made for parking such vehicles in a town, even if it is a designated area on the town outskirts. I have recently returned from a visit to Bath where the extensive Park & Ride parking on the outskirts of the city all have height barriers, making them useless for motorhome users. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 We used to take the view that if some towns made us feel unwelcome we would simply go elsewhere. Much less of an issue abroad where motorhoming we found was generally a heck of a lot easier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 As far as I know there is no legal duty on local authorities to provide parking for motorhomes, so they don't see any value to their town in doing so. Many councils simply use height barriers to exclude them, along with the sort of vehicles Travellers might use, especially on Park & Ride sites, which might otherwise attract undesirable temporary residents as well as those who just want to park while they ride into town.Short of a cdntral government requirement to cater for large vehicle as well as small, I don't see this changing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumblewagon Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 If they don't need our money - fine. Let's go somewhere else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 According to the council's web site (http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/parking-and-travel/car-parking/parking-vans-mobile-homes-and-larger-vehicles) Lansdown Park & Ride has no height barriers. It is always worth checking the council's web site (or that of the attraction being visited in the case of private businesses). More and more have added pages such as that mentioned above having been requested to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 The Charlotte Street car park in the city centre also has no height barriers. I'm at the Marina and have used the Newbridge park and ride twice today into the centre with two dogs, for free with my bus pass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeddykay Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Just returned from a very enjoyable trip to west Scotland. Very high standard of campsites, but when visiting the Falkirk Wheel on our journey home all the parking except for coaches and on the wide pavement nearby was limited by barriers to 2.1 m. Whilst recognising that some areas wish to ban overnight parking it seems ridiculously anti tourist to limit parking in short term areas in this way. We were happy to pay the parking charge.An added unnecessary stress to visitors happy to pay campsite fees and not overnight for free. An amazing sight spoiled by the worry of a zealous pc who might book one rightly for obstructing the pavement, not to mention the acknowledged danger to pedestrians, push chairs and wheel chair users. We had a similar experience in York P+R where barriers were installed so we kept on moving! A very unsatisfactory situation maybe caused by a nuisance minority? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Iirc the motorhome parking at Falkirk wheel is with the coaches. A quick online search reveals that York p&r's make provision for motorhomes. Nowadays we do as Graham suggests, and search online before going to any 'new' town, and yes Richard this includes when on the continent, as I've learnt recently the Dutch can be very hot on parking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Both York City Council and the Falkirk Wheel area of the Scottish Canals company web site have details for motorhome parking and have done for years. It often really is just a matter of a little advance looking at the appropriate web site(s) rather than trusting to luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 England doesn't welcome motorhomes or caravans......only on sites. Motorway services are appallingly bad with 2 hr max stay and threats of fines for overnight parking. Scotland is better for wild camping but many European countries are well sorted for motorhome tourists with grey water dumps and fresh water fills at many service areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinM50 Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 We found the south coast very M/H unfriendly a few years ago when we hired one for a try out. Virtually every town had height barriers on their seaside car parks and when I asked a Hastings council officer why, he replied that it's to keep out the gy oops I mean travellers and we've never been back to that area since. In my town we have height barriers and some travellers turned up with a battery powered disc grinder and let themselves in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Allen Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Recently stayed overnight in the car park at Bideford in Devon. We parked in the overflow/coach parking area. Shortly after arriving the parking warden came over to us and explained the situation of paying for the day at £3 and then just before 6.00pm press the middle button on the ticket machine to bring up the overnight parking fee for motorhomes (£5 until 10.00am next day.) You can stay a maximum of two nights. There are no grey, black or fresh water facilities directly available. The parking warden was brilliant and should be put up as an example on how to be extremely nice and helpful. He even suggested to us that the car park at Appledore also accepts motorhomes overnight but is more difficult to find a space that is big enough. He even suggested that as our van has a large rear overhang we should try to get a space where the hatching is behind us so we could overhang there. That would be grounds for issuing a ticket for most parking wardens but fortunately this one was intelligent. When I mentioned to him that it was refreshing to find a council that welcomed motorhomes he said that the council made the decision about 3 years ago as they thought it would increase tourism and bring money to the town. (OTHER COUNCILS, ARE YOU LISTENING?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 John Allen - 2018-06-20 8:46 PM That would be grounds for issuing a ticket for most parking wardens but fortunately this one was intelligent. That statement is total rubbish and insulting. Parking (and camping) regulations vary throughout the country depending on local circumstances and parking officers have to apply those regulations whatever they are - just as everyone has to follow the rules of the job they do. As regards increasing the number of overnighting facilities, the way to do it is to provide evidence to individual councils that it is to their benefit. It isn't everywhere that is attractive to tourists. Simply shouting "other councils are you listening?" is futile as proved time after time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 This 2013 forum poll may be of interest http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Height-barriers-your-opinions-/30998/ It’s interesting to note that there were only 38 responses (possibly indicating how few active participants this forum has) and also how the options were framed. I’d like to have seen the option “I can understand why height barriers are installed and believe that this policy will continue indefinitely”. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyExsis Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 In response to Equiables post - it is unfortunate that we can't just turn up at any car park and park our motorhome, but as that is not uncommon we do have to research beforehand. I live in Bath and thank other posters who have kindly pointed out options available. I have recently returned from Scotland and by doing research (including useful information on this forum) I overnighted at the Kelpies for free and drove onto the Fakirk Wheel the next morning where parking was easy and friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJB Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 We overnighted at the Falkirk Wheel last year. Apart from the toilet facilities being out of order and/or locked it was a reasonably cheap couple of nights. When travelling to the Kelpies via public transport there is a one mile walk through the park...may not suit some!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deffheads Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 I would suggest the barriers are not aimed at Motorhomers, but our very close 'relative' the travelling fraternity. I sometimes wonder what the difference is between them and us, bearing in mind the behaviour we have witnessed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Height barriers are erected for a number of reasons. One of the most common is to stop commercial vehicles clogging up commuter/shopper car parks, rather than anyone in a motorhome. Where they are specifically used to prevent access to motorhomers and/or "travellers", it is normally the result of abuse by member of the targeted group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeddykay Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Maybe you approached the Wheel from a different side to us but following signs off the southbound A9 there was no way you could park overnight, not that we wanted to. Parking at the Kelpies was a much more user friendly experience and we didnt mind the walk through the park! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelmorris Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Had in interesting chat with someone from the council who deal with Christchurch about a lack of motorhome parking at one of their popular beach side nature reserves. They were sympathetic, but said that they had to put up height barriers due to damage to the reserve caused by frequent occupation by travellers. I said I understood their problem, but they were missing out on the >200,000 motorhome owners in the UK visiting the reserve. They said that as a result of our conversation they would look again at providing a few dedicated limited time motorhome spaces. We will wait and see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelmorris Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Tracker - 2018-06-20 1:58 PM We used to take the view that if some towns made us feel unwelcome we would simply go elsewhere. Much less of an issue abroad where motorhoming we found was generally a heck of a lot easier! I think that many european countries have a much lower traveller population than the UK, so illegal encampments are less of an issue for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 The number of “gens du voyage” (‘travellers’) in France has been estimated at between 250,000 and 450,000 (around 0.5% of the national population). France has laws compelling communities over a certain population-size to provide permanent ‘encampments’ for gens du voyage, though this does not prevent the travellers from occupying land elsewhere and it has been quite common for motorhome ‘aires’ to be taken over particularly if free fresh-water has been available there. Invariably, wherever the travellers stop en route in France, a mess is left behind when they move on. When French local authorities erect height barriers it’s much more likely that this action will be to control parking of motorhomes. Locmariaquer in southern Brittany used to be clogged with motorhomes during summer. Nowadays there is a free parking-only ‘aire’ (about 20 vehicles and a 24-hours maximum stay) on the coast, with a (pay) service-pedestal on the far side of the town. All the car-parks have either height barriers or limited-duration prohibitions. The present situation was complained about in April 2017 https://www.campingcar-infos.com/Francais/cci.php?numero=22502 but it’s a consequence of motorcaravanners’ behaviour in the past. There are plenty of campsites at Locmariaquer for people who really want to stay there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 I was going to go to Burry Port near Swansea tonight, but a local told me it has been closed to motorhomes because of the behaviour of a minority, throwing the contents of their toilet cassette into the bushes.. Another one lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Billggski - 2018-06-23 10:27 PM I was going to go to Burry Port near Swansea tonight, but a local told me it has been closed to motorhomes because of the behaviour of a minority, throwing the contents of their toilet cassette into the bushes.. Another one lost. According to UK Motorhomes (https://www.ukmotorhomes.net/uk-stopovers/uk-stopover-news/carmarthenshire-stopover) the closure is a result of redevelopment work (https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/harbour-developer-outlines-plans-boost-14199025). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Billggski - 2018-06-23 10:27 PM I was going to go to Burry Port near Swansea tonight, but a local told me it has been closed to motorhomes because of the behaviour of a minority, throwing the contents of their toilet cassette into the bushes.. Another one lost. I'm pretty certain that's an offence in most countries. I've never seen anyone doing it anywhere though i knew someone who once dumped theirs in a public loo in France and got told off by a local. I was surprised at their lack of consideration over it. I've emptied the remnants of mine in my own toilet at home....but i'd never use a public toilet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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