# Motorhome parking web site



## 88741 (May 9, 2005)

Forgive me if this has been posted before, but saw it in the CC mag and after a quick look does look like it could be helpful :wink:

http://www.motorhomeparking.co.uk/


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

Thanks Helen

Good link I've bookmarked it

Frank


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## spykal (May 9, 2005)

Hi Helen

That is a good link .... and it is a MHF member who owns the site :lol:

GJH is the member and he has posted about it >>Here <<

I see that he has now set it up on it's own domain at the link you gave.

more power to his elbow.... or keyboard :lol:

mike


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Frank,

Now Helen's got an excuse, working every day on a farm, but I have to ask, did that wasp addle your brain up that ladder? Given the provenance of that website ("Avoid Salisbury"), I thought you would have known about it! 

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopicp-143243.html#143243
http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopicp-120055.html#120055

Dave


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## 88741 (May 9, 2005)

Should have known you would all know about it, have been away too long, did do a quick search on the site and could not see it, anyway tis a brill idea


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## 88927 (May 10, 2005)

Hi Helen
Going to be off topic I know :roll: but I just wanted to say a BIG welcome back :lol: :lol: Haven't seen you here for ages and sorry if I missed any posts telling us that you had arrived :lol: 
So anyway *WELOME BACK* 

Keith


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

DABurleigh said:


> Frank,
> 
> Now Helen's got an excuse, working every day on a farm, but I have to ask, did that wasp addle your brain up that ladder? Given the provenance of that website ("Avoid Salisbury"), I thought you would have known about it!
> 
> ...


I have two excuses

1 at the end of the thread I started I was in Norway dodging the traffic jams  likewise for the start of the second thread.

2 my brain has been addled trying to read the links to the telegraph that you placed earlier - the telegraph always has that effect on me.

Just thought of no 3, Helen who has done so much for MHF didn't have a thanks so I gave her one.

Frank


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

"Helen who has done so much for MHF didn't have a thanks so I gave her one."

In which case I hope she's made at least some headway in catching up with site functionality ....

Dave


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## 88741 (May 9, 2005)

[/quote]

Just thought of no 3, Helen who has done so much for MHF didn't have a thanks so I gave her one.

Frank[/quote]

 Ahh someone does care after all  Thank you

Could be tho' that my posts are always telling people off rather than helpful ones :lol:


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## john56 (Oct 14, 2012)

HelenB said:


> Forgive me if this has been posted before, but saw it in the CC mag and after a quick look does look like it could be helpful :wink:
> 
> http://www.motorhomeparking.co.uk/[/quote
> 
> ...


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## johnthompson (Jul 29, 2010)

I have taken on the work Graham was doing and have been contacting councils, MSAs, National Park Authorities etc. to get updated information. Peter Treanor has also contacted some council and we will be pooling resources.

The results are being posted on http://www.camperstops.org/index.php/participate/discuss

This is a new site that is the basis for a campaigning/lobbying group.

Keith set this site up while travelling back to the UK from Spain so it is still a work in progress.

It is possible that a name change will occur shortly as it could be confused with http://www.camperstops.co.uk/index.php/en/forums

John


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

johnthompson said:


> I have taken on the work Graham was doing and have been contacting councils, MSAs, National Park Authorities etc. to get updated information. Peter Treanor has also contacted some council and we will be pooling resources.
> 
> The results are being posted on http://www.camperstops.org/index.php/participate/discuss
> 
> ...


John

Thanks foor taking this on.

I am sure there is much to do and maybe the info i am giving here is for filing for future exploratin.

I was parked on the dunes at a beach just S. of Berwick. There were no signs of any sort(just a lifebuoy on a post) Because of some suspicious activity I reported it(not parking related). The police paid a visit. They did not approach us but i made it known that it was I who had made the report, we discussed the reason for the report. At the end they asked if we were staying long and i replied that we were leaving next day. They said there is a Northumberland-wide by-law against 'camping'. I responded that I considered they we were just parking. They then left without saying anymore. Next morning a police van passed on this dead-end road, but did not stop.

I have tried unsuccessfully to research on the Northumberland website for the by-law and, if it exists, the definition of 'camping'.

Policemen are not always accurate on the law, especially by-laws, so they may be confused with the Council's ban on overnighting in all their CPs.

Good luck with the project.

Geoff


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## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

Geoff,

You said there were no signs. There was one however on the approach to where you parked. The sign has no basis in law and is the underhand way that the Authorities try to put us off wilding.

I have said this numerous times before, the SSSI trick is a cheap short cut which seems to fool most people. It is being used across hundreds of miles of coastal areas because it avoids expensive legal procedures, even though it is itself illegal.

See attached photo of the sign you missed.


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## john56 (Oct 14, 2012)

johnthompson said:


> I have taken on the work Graham was doing and have been contacting councils, MSAs, National Park Authorities etc. to get updated information. Peter Treanor has also contacted some council and we will be pooling resources.
> 
> The results are being posted on http://www.camperstops.org/index.php/participate/discuss
> 
> ...


John, very pleased you have taken this on and very good luck to you.
Bit spooky though as my name is also "John Thompson"


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

747 said:


> Geoff,
> 
> You said there were no signs. There was one however on the approach to where you parked. The sign has no basis in law and is the underhand way that the Authorities try to put us off wilding.
> 
> ...


Jim

You are correct. I had seen that sign, but forgotten it by now. It was quite a way before where we parked and did not define the 'Area'and since it referred to 'Camping' and 'Fires' and not to 'Overnight Parking' I considered it was aimed at any disruption to the environment beyond just parking.

As you point out it has no basis in law.

My post was more concerned with the police assertion that there is a County by-law banning 'Camping', whatever they define that as.

Geoff

P.S I consider I am a sub-species of Special Scientific Interest, especially nocturnally, so I should be left alone in my, albeit itinerant, habitat. :wink: :lol:

How about you Jim?


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## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

I think I am a unique example of **** Sapiens Geoff.

The reason I believe this is that a nimber of people have said "I have never met anyone like you before". :lol:


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## johnthompson (Jul 29, 2010)

Hi Jim, John and Geoff

I am currently parked in a gale on an SSSI site at Haverigg. We have been here since the beginning of the month. We lease this land from the farmer and have done so for 40 years. Natural England are fully aware of our use and Joan my wife is a conservation officer for the club. We will be meeting an officer from Natural England very shortly on site as she has not yet seen this bit of the Duddon Estuary SSSI

So the Northumberland bit is a red herring. Millom Council have the same restrictions as Northumberland on their bit of the SSSI. They even tried to make a public right of way through the land we lease, but this was fought and now the footpath ends abruptly at the gate. We maintain a track to our site from that point.

I wrote to Northumberland County Council on 15th June They haven't replied so far.

Parking in Northumberland is not a matter for the Police. This has been taken over by the County Council.

From the NCC Parking Website

_Civil Parking Enforcement enables the County Council to enforce parking regulations to make sure that everyone parks correctly on the highway and in County Council owned or managed car parks.

The main benefits of CPE are as follows:
•Reduction in obstructive parking and associated levels of congestion
•More effective management of on and off street parking throughout the county that is consistent with neighbouring authorities in the region
•Improved road safety and conditions for vulnerable road users e.g. children mobility groups, elderly people and cyclists
•Improved conditions for public transport
•Improved accessibility for local servicing needs, taxi and disabled parking which should support local economic activity

The Civil Enforcement Officers s are instantly recognisable in their red and black uniforms which include the Northumberland County Council logo and Parking Services branding._

The TRO that came into effect on 4th May 2010

States No Person shall in a parking bay.

(i) shall erect or permit or cause to be erected at tent stand booth building awning or structure without the written consent of the council
(ii) light or cause or permit to be lit a fire or
(iii)deposit any builders skip without the permission of the council

The order then lists all of the car parks affected by that order.

There is no mention of Caravans or Motor Caravans the nearest being a Passenger Vehicle constricted or adapted to carry no more than 8 passengers plus the driver which coincides with the EU directive of category M vehicles "A motor Caravan is a category M vehicle with a special body".

There is no ban in the TRO for cooking, eating or sleeping in a Motor Vehicle.

I will be chasing the council up again in July if they haven't responded.

The questions I asked were the same as Graham asked.

1. Height restrictions. 
2. Requirements for parking within bay confines (including any requirement for purchasing two parking tickets where the length of a vehicle means that it overhangs a second bay at its rear). 
3. Any provision of toilet and waste disposal facilities.(such as used by coaches) 
4. Any provision of spaces specifically aimed at motorhomes and/or caravans. 
5. Any provision for (or ban on) overnight parking and whether or not sleeping/eating in the vehicle is allowed
6. Restricted access caused by narrow roads/entrances.

It looks like Keith will be changing the site name any day now.


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## johnthompson (Jul 29, 2010)

Sorry Guys I have just re-read the Northumberland County Council Parking Regulations (TRO)

In section 8. Other provisions

is the clause.

(3) No person shall use any part of a parking place for sleeping or camping or cooking, or for the purpose of servicing or washing any vehicle or part thereof other than is reasonably necessary to enable that vehicle to depart from the parking place.

That is in addition to (9) quoted in the post above about lighting fires etc.

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Keith has just informed me that he has secured the website www.tmcto.org for *The Motor Caravan Tourism Organisation *and will be changing things over this week to the new site.

This should remove any problems with the camper stop name.

The Aims of the Motor Caravan Tourism Organisation are

1. Promote the needs and aspirations of Motor Caravan users in the UK and from abroad,

2. Promote the benefits to communities by encouraging users to visit and park in a responsible fashion respecting local communities and the environment

3. Promote the Motor Caravan code of conduct at all times

4. Establish Motor Caravan Stops based on the ones existing in Northern Ireland and Europe in every Town, Village, Attraction, Supermarket, Motorway Service Area and Service Stations on major routes in the UK,


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

John

Thank you for those two posts.

I notice that the section that you quote in the first of your posts above refers to 'parking bays' whereas the quote in Section 8 uses the wording 'parking place'

I have tried to go to the TRO to see whether these terms are defined but although i could find a list of TROs I could not open any of them from the links.

Can you shed light on the different wordings used?

Obviously an off-road wildcamping spot would not come within the description of a 'parking bay' but maybe within the description of a 'parking place' according to the definition. Any comment please?

Of course if NCC have defined 'parking place' too widely they may be outlawing a lot of HGV drivers sleeping in their cabs  

Geoff


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