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Driveway Aires


Knaus

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Hi

Have just heard about a website named DrivewayAires.co.uk

 

Looking at it, it seems to be a good idea especially as you have to be a member and then you deal directly with the motorhomer requesting a parking space.

 

I think a chance to park on a fellow motorhomer's drive or spare space could be very handy if you are visiting a relative, friend or have a special occasion to go to where there are no local sites available. Also if you are worried about leaving your property whilst away on holiday.

 

Have a look.

 

 

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I looked at the web site and think it's a great idea, Motorhome club has a similar scheme, if you look at the link you will see another link showing what sort of stop overs are on offer, the one that comes up is for a stopover at Chichester, they will give you a hook up for £ 5 . and you thought electricity was expensive on camp sites ?? *-) *-)
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vindiboy - 2009-07-14 2:21 PM

 

I looked at the web site and think it's a great idea, Motorhome club has a similar scheme, if you look at the link you will see another link showing what sort of stop overs are on offer, the one that comes up is for a stopover at Chichester, they will give you a hook up for £ 5 . and you thought electricity was expensive on camp sites ?? *-) *-)

I think the one listed is at the home of the scheme owners. I did point out to them that it was illegal to re-sell electricity at more than cost....

 

Andy

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Andy_C - 2009-07-14 3:00 PM

 

vindiboy - 2009-07-14 2:21 PM

 

I looked at the web site and think it's a great idea, Motorhome club has a similar scheme, if you look at the link you will see another link showing what sort of stop overs are on offer, the one that comes up is for a stopover at Chichester, they will give you a hook up for £ 5 . and you thought electricity was expensive on camp sites ?? *-) *-)

I think the one listed is at the home of the scheme owners. I did point out to them that it was illegal to re-sell electricity at more than cost....

 

Andy

 

They are not reselling electricity at a profit - they are hiring out the supply equipment - the electricity is unmetered and therefore 'free' - the same as sites do - but for much more - perhaps they don't really want visitors after all!

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I like the concept but wonder about planning rules if the number of stays in any year is in excess of any derogation under the 28-day rule? Perhaps Graham may have an opinion? Also, if a charge is made, presumably HMRC will expect the owner of the driveway to inform them and impose penalties if they are not made aware of the activity? They may consider that formally listing the facility as available on a website constitutes an intention to "trade"? Similarly, there is public liability to consider - after all the driveway and the adjacent property could be at risk in our litigious society, especially if any electrical facility made available does not conform to IEE standards and the relevant supporting legislation?

 

All too often simple, useful ideas like this are killed-off by the realities of living with UK over-regulation, tax laws and lawyers.

 

Bob

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Or people like you Stalwart who seem to be very negative, I regularly have friends stay on my drive in their vans, I have had four at once some times and had no problems, no money changes hands and I am not in any scheme just friends who visit. :-) :-)
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vindiboy - 2009-07-15 9:39 AM

 

Or people like you Stalwart who seem to be very negative, I regularly have friends stay on my drive in their vans, I have had four at once some times and had no problems, no money changes hands and I am not in any scheme just friends who visit. :-) :-)

 

he is also still correct in what he says B-)

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Usinmyknaus - 2009-07-15 9:15 AM

 

I like the concept but wonder about planning rules if the number of stays in any year is in excess of any derogation under the 28-day rule? Perhaps Graham may have an opinion? Also, if a charge is made, presumably HMRC will expect the owner of the driveway to inform them and impose penalties if they are not made aware of the activity? They may consider that formally listing the facility as available on a website constitutes an intention to "trade"? Similarly, there is public liability to consider - after all the driveway and the adjacent property could be at risk in our litigious society, especially if any electrical facility made available does not conform to IEE standards and the relevant supporting legislation?

 

All too often simple, useful ideas like this are killed-off by the realities of living with UK over-regulation, tax laws and lawyers.

 

Bob

Sorry I should have said USIN MYKNAUS
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Malc, sorry I was not trying to be negative, just practical. Of course your arrangement with a friend is not ever likely to be a problem and I would not hesitate to allow friends to stay on my own property. Indeed such arrangements were not what I was referring to in my post, it was the wider scheme.

 

I would be very supportive of a national scheme if one was availabe (such as "France Passion" for example) in the UK but I simply wondered whether such a scheme was possible in our particular legal and regulatory environment.

 

Bob

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Err, I donnnnnnn't believe it!

Who wants to spend time on someones drive? What is the point? (Unless one is visiting of course.)

I am obviously missing something with these threads on these unusual overnight stops. Is it a micky take or am I a different type of motorhomer or, perhaps, just short on the grey matter?

Someone please explain............Doh!

 

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Staying on driveways of friends or family you are visiting is totally different, You wouldn't think twice about parking your car and staying indoors the night, so really no difference if in motorhome. The reason for being there is to visit.

 

My points would be regarding driveway aires -

what effect on neighbours would m/h's coming and going have on them. Would you just be able to turn up anytime? as most times it would be while travelling so late arrival, early departure I guess would be more likely.

 

All though I think that this would be a wonderful idea and one that would be supported, the practicality of it may be the flaw. Not everyone is motorhome friendly, and I can't see many people running the risk of upsetting their neighbours for no reward - the ones that do ie Safe Knights etc are offering a driveway to club members not just general public and have been doing this for many years already, they offer no facilities just a safe overnight stop by prior arrangement. This is a slightly different scenario to what I feel Driveway Aires would be about.

 

 

 

 

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Travelling Tyke - 2009-07-15 10:47 AM

 

Err, I donnnnnnn't believe it!

Who wants to spend time on someones drive? What is the point? (Unless one is visiting of course.)

I am obviously missing something with these threads on these unusual overnight stops. Is it a micky take or am I a different type of motorhomer or, perhaps, just short on the grey matter?

Someone please explain............Doh!

 

No Tyke, I don't think you are short of the grey matter and neither would I spend a holiday on someone's drive so you must just be a different type of motorhome user - and there is nowt wrong with that!

 

For some amongst us a holiday involves much time spent on or driving to and from a camp site. Maybe people love the camp site environment? Maybe they like the perception of security? Maybe they do it because they always have? I don't know - cos I don't subscribe to that ethos. I don't knock it either - each to his own!

 

For others amongst us a holiday is the time spent lazing on a beach, or mountain, or river or exploring the countryside or towns and villages or simply just wandering from place to place and being on a camp site has no appeal whatsoever!

 

All that is needed for a successful and happy holiday for some amongst us is somewhere convenient to kip each night so that one is ready to wander off again in the morning and to that end someone's driveway or a pub car park is as good, or bad, a place as any other. After all it is only whilst you sleep!

 

Two different philosophies on the use of a motorhome neither of which is wrong - just different - but it seems that some of the site likers are so entrenched in their ways that they are unable to accept that there is a different way and I just wonder why they (and I'm not getting at you here!) are so adamantly against the alternatives - after all it does not affect them in any way?

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wild rover - 2009-07-15 10:58 AM

 

Rules and regs!The problem with us Brits is that we are always scared of authority. We can't do anything without thinking that big brother is going to find out. That's the difference between us and the French, Spanish and Italians.

I couldn't agree more .that's what Iv'e just been trying to get across about a previous post we [not me] worry to much about doing the right thing, my view is just do it and see what happens, generally. *-) *-)
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I was reading a post somewhere the other day from someone whose wife had to go into hospital for emergency treatment and he ,the husband was enquirering about somewhere he could park his Motorhome and stay to be near his wife whilst she had her treatment. Well I can see where the garden Aires would be of great value in this case as I don't suppose there would be a camp site near the Hospital, I only wish the Hospital was near where I live as I would have been the first to offer my garden for as long as was needed.
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Usinmyknaus - 2009-07-15 9:15 AM

 

I like the concept but wonder about planning rules if the number of stays in any year is in excess of any derogation under the 28-day rule? Perhaps Graham may have an opinion? Also, if a charge is made, presumably HMRC will expect the owner of the driveway to inform them and impose penalties if they are not made aware of the activity? (snip)

Does this mean me?

 

The use of land for caravan sites is laid down in the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960. Most sites need a licence but there are some cases, listed in the First Schedule, where a licence is not required. A caravan site is defined by S1(4) as land on which a caravan is stationed for the purposes of human habitation and land which is used in conjunction with land on which a caravan is so stationed - so would include a driveway.

 

I don't know how the MCC Safe Knights scheme fits in with it but the MCC is an Exempted Organisation so maybe they are able to rely on Paragraphs 5 and/or 6 of the First Schedule.

 

Staying on a friend's driveway seems to be covered by Paragraph 1 of the First Schedule. I should have thought that having friends to stay, wherever they sleep, is incidental to the enjoyment of a dwellinghouse. I don't know whether such enjoyment would extend to the scheme proposed by Aire Driveways UK. It could be argued that as all the people involved are members of the same club then it does. If that argument is successful the 28 day rule would not apply.

 

However, if Paragraph 1 doesn't extend so far then the Aire Driveways UK scheme would have to rely on Paragraph 2 of the First Schedule, which allows use by a person travelling with a caravan for one or two nights but only for one van at a time.

 

Interestingly, the Act doesn't mention payment for use of a site. I notice that Aire Driveways UK actually say "No money should exchange hands, as we are not renting drive space. If you wish to offer electricity, this should be confirmed before arrival. We do not recommend allowing the disposal of waste." so that could, I suppose, be used to reinforce the argument for Paragraph 1 of the First Schedule to apply.

 

As Bob mentions, apart from planning law there are other considerations such as public liability. I should have thought that the terms of the householder's buildings insurance would be more relevant than legislation in that regard. It would certainly be necessary to inform the insurance company of participation in the scheme as it would be relevant to the risk covered - and the company might well decline to offer cover over and above visits by genuine friends (or charge a higher premium).

 

The other factor which springs to mind is relations with neighbours. They might have no objections to visits by genuine friends but might be upset by other people turning up an average of once a fortnight.

 

I would certainly urge anyone thinking of joining the scheme to be satisfied as to the points above before doing so.

 

Graham

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I agree with you, Vindiboy. Stuff all the stupid red tape! It's between the people who agree to let you use their drive and the mh owner who wants to make use of it. Nobody else's business! As long as nobody is harming anyone what's the big deal? I'm sick of the little control freaks who run this country.

 

Pam

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