# Overnight motorhome parking campaigner



## kencocamper (May 1, 2005)

Hi,
just been on the webb site of Andy Strangeway who has taken up the fight against councils bringing in new bye-laws against overnight parking and putting up height barriers and no overnight parking signs in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire etc. HE NEEDS OUR SUPPORT.
Take a look at his webb site, what a man!

andystrangewayovernightparkingcampaigner.wordpress.com

He is organising a meeting at Skegness the end of feb and needs our help.

Ken


----------



## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

When you join him at Huttoft (not Skegness) please let us all know about your arrest for obstruction and how much you were fined please. :wink:


----------



## kencocamper (May 1, 2005)

OK


----------



## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

747 said:


> When you join him at Huttoft (not Skegness) please let us all know about your arrest for obstruction and how much you were fined please. :wink:


747

From what I have read from Andy's website he has not encouraged obstruction, only parking and risking a PCN, which he encourages people to challenge on the grounds that the parking restrictions have not been properly legislated, or have been done so without the required consultation, or authority from the Secretary for State.

He seems to be quite thorough in his research into Primary and Secondary legislation and the drafting of the relevant Orders thereunder.

He has also unearthed connections between Councillors and their relatives who have interests in campsites; while not alleging any corruption it raises questions about possible vested interests, which may or may not have been declared.

Geoff


----------



## GordonBennet (Sep 22, 2010)

kencocamper said:


> Hi,
> just been on the webb site of Andy Strangeway who has taken up the fight against councils bringing in new bye-laws against overnight parking and putting up height barriers and no overnight parking signs in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire etc. HE NEEDS OUR SUPPORT.
> Take a look at his webb site, what a man!
> 
> ...


Can't make it Ken but you have my positive and moral support. Best of luck; I hope you get a huge amount of support.


----------



## pomme1 (May 19, 2005)

I think that the research Andy has carried out is exemplary and he is well on his way to marshaling an unanswerable argument.

I fear all that is likely to be undone by a mass turnout of motorhomes which is likely to have precisely the reverse effect to what is intended and is scarcely likely to engender public support. Rather it is likely to only reinforce the Council's case.

Roger


----------



## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

Point him toWeymouth & Portland Borough Council, they are installing an Aire within easy walking distance of the town centre and beach at Weymouth. I am on the project group assisting, planned for opening date is Easter.


----------



## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

If you read the section 'access required', he states that his 'friends' in high sided vehicles (not him, he overnights in a car because he does not have a motorhome or camper of any sort) will have to park AT the barriers and wait for LCC to open the height barriers. This in effect, will block access and egress for all other vehicles.

There are a number of areas affected by height barriers, he does not seem to specify which one (or how many) will be affected.

I expect that the details will be emailed to anyone who contacts him about joining him in the Huttoft area.

Just to make it clear ...... I am not anti Andy Strangeway. I am withholding judgement in the light of some of his behaviour and keenness to threaten legal action against some members of the motorhome fraternity who have voiced concerns about some of his actions (or intended actions). Simply by saying this, I may now have a problem with the man as he scours the forums.


----------



## Bazbro (May 9, 2005)

Andy Strangeway is working hard on projects that will benefit us all.

"Overnight parking" in certain areas harms no-one except maybe the owners of sites that charge vastly inflated prices for a patch of ground to stop for the night. But some Councils plaster "No overnight" signs willy-nilly - Andy successfully challenges the legality of this and full marks to him. Why are so many of these signs put up? Work it out for yourself!! Some must have a valid reason(??) to be put up, but others clearly have no obvious reason (except perhaps the close proximity to a camp site...).

I understand some members of a website were obnoxious and untruthful in their open public comments about Andy. This seems to be the result... 
http://tinyurl.com/nz5soax

We need help to maintain a network of places we can legally stop for the night, and people like Andy Strangeway with his campaign, and MrPlodd with his contacts with a local Council are doing good work - all good stuff.

But if a Council illegally blocks the entrance to a public place, what is wrong with queuing to get in until the illegal obstruction is removed?? 747 seems concerned about a possible offence of "obstruction" by motorhomes. The people queuing are not causing obstruction... it is the Council's illegally-placed barrier doing that!

I give Andy Strangeway my wholehearted support and I urge others to do so too or we collectively risk being illegally hounded out of many more areas of our Country. It has already happened in some places.


----------



## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

Bazbro said:


> Andy Strangeway is working hard on projects that will benefit us all.
> 
> "Overnight parking" in certain areas harms no-one except maybe the owners of sites that charge vastly inflated prices for a patch of ground to stop for the night. But some Councils plaster "No overnight" signs willy-nilly - Andy successfully challenges the legality of this and full marks to him. Why are so many of these signs put up? Work it out for yourself!! Some must have a valid reason(??) to be put up, but others clearly have no obvious reason (except perhaps the close proximity to a camp site...).
> 
> ...


Bazbro, if you are going to include links in a post, please put accurate ones and not wildly inaccurate ones. :roll:

Andy threatened legal action against the wildcamping forum Admin. Your link is about the motorhomingwild forum which is closing down because members fell out about another member being banned. The only thing this has to do with Andy is that the Admin supported him.

Without being nasty about it, I have no time for motorhomers who sit on their hands then shout support for some bloke who comes along. Why have you not been doing something about parking yourself? Some of us have had some success in this area already. We just don't crow about it ..... or ask for donations.


----------



## Bazbro (May 9, 2005)

I'm sincerely sorry and tender my apologies if I have misunderstood Andy's earlier comments and now this announcement by him, mistakenly linking them.



> Why have you not been doing something about parking yourself?


You (mistakenly) pre-suppose that I have never done anything in this field. My endless contacts on this very subject with the English Tourist Board (now visitengland.com I believe) pre-date this discussion by precisely 24 years... Yes, I have been banging my head against many brick walls over the years and it's possibly because of ground work like this over a great many years that now people like yourself(?), MrPlodd, Andy Strangeway _et al_ are having some successes.

I actually DO still have time for motorhomers who are not as active as others - each to their own. Some of us are good at this sort of thing and some aren't, but I wouldn't dream of bad-mouthing someone who isn't.

If you have done good work in this field, maybe you ought to crow about it to give others the opportunity to support you and spread that good work? False modesty helps no-one in a public issue such as this.


----------



## barryd (May 9, 2008)

I seem to remember he took his bat and ball and threatend legal action on wildcamping.co.uk as he didnt like being questioned about his actions or motivation. 747 will correct me if I am wrong but I beleive that is what happened.

I saw the thread in question and indeed took part in it. He was considering direct action on the Island of Mull of all places. A place that does not have any issues with wild camping but many felt that carrying out such a campaign on a Scottish island where we are already welcome would have a negative effect. Some including myself questioned his motives. Nobody (well one) was obnoxious but that was him off and the next we heard from Phil the admin was that he was threatening legal action!

As said. He doesnt even have a motorhome although is does have a donate button or you can send him a cheque. So again. What are his motives?


----------



## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

Bazbro said:


> I'm sincerely sorry and tender my apologies if I have misunderstood Andy's earlier comments and now this announcement by him, mistakenly linking them.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Apology accepted and I hope you accept my apology in return for any good work you have done in this area. Unfortunately I am not as magnanimous as yourself. I regard anyone who does nothing yet moans about something is just a whinger and I have no time for them.

As for what I have done, I have been working with an employee of a County Council to put in place an Aire type facility. The problem is that his employers are anti-motorhome (anti parking of any sort really) and headway is slow. At the moment he has managed to allow overnight parking (at a small charge) but it is slightly under the Radar, that is why I have never gone public on any forum about it. I have pm'ed the odd forum member with the details but the worst thing would be unlimited vans arriving to stop over. There are enough with knowledge to demonstrate an income stream without any problems due to numbers. I have discussed the basic needs for an Aire facility but lack of money is the root of the problem. Northern Councils have been hit harder than most by this Government with cutbacks in funding.

For anyone reading this thread, if you want to help then approach any local Trusts in your area, they are always looking for funding. Organisations such as Harbour Trusts, Railway Trusts (I might attend a motorhome rally at one of these next month) or similar. This is more liable to achieve a result than butting heads with Councillors.


----------



## Bazbro (May 9, 2005)

Of course apology accepted, 747. 
And congratulations for having more success with your chosen Council than I ever had with the English Tourist Board (useless), Surrey and Sussex County Councils (superficially helpful but then obstructive) and a few local councils in my then home area.


----------



## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

Bazbro said:


> Of course apology accepted, 747.
> And congratulations for having more success with your chosen Council than I ever had with the English Tourist Board (useless), Surrey and Sussex County Councils (superficially helpful but then obstructive) and a few local councils in my then home area.


I know exactly what you mean.

I have also been there and would not waste my time approaching Councils direct. A sympathetic Councillor who is willing to speak on your behalf would be the only option I would follow nowadays ...... but where can you find one of those/ :lol:


----------



## StephandJohn (Sep 3, 2007)

There is a good parking area at Heysham (Lancs) but they had to put in height barriers and ban overnight parking because they had 12 vans of travellers turn up who refused to move on after a couple of days.


----------



## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

I think that many of us who have wilded for any length of time, do our bit for the cause, some quietly and some crowing attention.
Every little helps!
The ones that don't help are the abusers!


----------



## 91502 (May 1, 2005)

Hi all

I have read a little (before i got bored) of his campaign in Lincolnshire against the council but I have to disagree with him.
I know many of the councillors in the area and many do have business interests (this is the same wherever you look) and being a mainly tourist area most are someway connected to the industry.
I personally know the family who opened the first caravan park in the area to house migrant workers after the war and now own many of the sites both residential and touring along with many of the tourist attractions in and around Skegness. 
They actually sold the land to Billy Butlin to build his site.
They have no problem what so ever with wild camping MH's, the number is so small and they most likely wouldn't come at all if they had to pay for sites.
The only problem they have is with "travellers" who have cost them £millions over the years.
The problem is stopping one group while allowing the other.
I have discussed an Aire and they are mainly in favour, they may lose some revenue on sites but gain in other areas.
The problem lies in funding, they don't have any.
The councils in Lincolnshire are about the hardest hit in the country and businesses are struggling so the money just isn't there.

In my opinion a mass queue outside car parks goes against the cause and will more than likely end up with tickets for obstruction a highway from the police not PCN's

James


----------



## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

747 said:


> Bazbro said:
> 
> 
> > Of course apology accepted, 747.
> ...


747

I have said this before, Councillors represent their constituents, so anyone living outside the area is not in a position to lobby them, and why would anyone living inside their area want to park for the night?

Maybe we should be targeting retailers, who pay business rates so have a voice. The problem there seems to be that it is difficult to demonstrate how much the MH community would spend. Maybe some Town Halls in France/Germany have some estimates to help this argument.

As to facilities being set-up which might be abused by 'travellers', it seems to me that most of them congregate in a minimum of groups of four, often more. Maybe lobbying for numbers of spaces for 3 MHs would help. There could be 3 spaces in 3 separate Car Parks. It would even be possible to segregate those three spaces and still erect barriers for the rest of the CP. An example is the P+R at Oxford where the unrestricted height area is across the road from the C+CC site, whereas the main entrance has height barriers.

This is about as constructive as I can be from here.

I could of course lobby in Poland, but a bit pointless, as there are no height barriers, no prohibition signs - park where you like! In three years I have only seen one group of 4 Roma vans parked on a verge - maybe they cannot make a living in competition with Polish workers :wink:

Geoff


----------



## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

Hi Geoff,

In built up areas (especially tourist areas) your approach is probably the best one to take and motorhomes would be a benefit but mostly off-season when the place is otherwise dead.

One big problem to overcome with newer Retail Parks is the fact that many of the car parks are administered by a parking enforcement company and the stay is limited to 2 or 3 hours. I had this problem when I approached Asda about motorhomes overnighting in their Gateshead Metrocentre branch car park. it would have brought in plenty of revenue for them but their contract with a private parking company stopped it. Remember that they are part of Walmart who have always allowed RV's to overnight in the USA.

If anyone is interested in talking to their local Council, they should include links to the Councils which have done something positive and have generated more business for their area. Your point is correct about motorhomers not contacting their Council because they never need to overnight at home. Most motorhomers want a lot without doing anything at all. Without a grass roots push, nothing will ever change.


----------



## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

747 said:


> Hi Geoff,
> 
> In built up areas (especially tourist areas) your approach is probably the best one to take and motorhomes would be a benefit but mostly off-season when the place is otherwise dead.
> 
> ...


747

When I used the word 'retailers' I was not thinking of Retail Parks - horrible soulless places, but of small shops - butchers, bakers etc. , even charity shops. The sort of shops which would benefit from parking near their locations, thus avoiding MHs being forced to the Tesco/Sainsbury in Retail Parks.

An example I can think of near you is the CP on the S. side of the bridge in Corbridge, short walk to a butcher with good mutton pies and we picked up a few bits at the Co-oP. No height barriers, but unfortunately, I think, 'No Overnight'. So the pubs lost out.

Pubs are another retail outlet that might benefit from public MH parking, without filling their car parks - there seem to be quite a few imbibers on MHF, myself included - Basia comes a close second.

Geoff


----------



## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

Maybe I should have explained it better Geoff.

In places like Scarborough and Whitby for example, I did mean High Street retailers. They undoubtedly have lost out and will only notice it in the off season when it is very quiet. In fact, despite an orchestrated campaign in Scarborough (which the local newspaper was happy to publicise any downside of motorhomes) the business owners have been complaining about a downturn.

As for your experience in Corbridge, motorhomes DO overnight in that Car Park, despite the signage. You have to remember that not every sign is legal, plus if you arrive late, nobody knows you were there overnight. :wink: 

AND

You could have pulled into the Sports ground and had a night there, tucked away behind the Grandstand. The railway line is close but there are no overnight trains. It is further away from the Town but close to a very good Pub (The Dyvils) and an excellent Restaurant in the Railway Station building.

Please ask when you are next in my area Geoff. :wink:


----------



## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

747

OK, your on - and its my first round in the pub (you can pay for the restaurant :lol: :lol: :lol: )

Do you think we can invite Barry? or is it a bit far North for him - the beer might not be to his 'continental' taste :roll: 

Geoff


----------



## johnthompson (Jul 29, 2010)

Hi BarryD

As far as I remember Andy Strangeways stated he had received some emails about motorhome parking on Mull and he asked if anyone else had had such problems. If so he offered to take up some action if there was a need. He did not say he was going to take action on Mull.


----------



## barryd (May 9, 2008)

johnthompson said:


> Hi BarryD
> 
> As far as I remember Andy Strangeways stated he had received some emails about motorhome parking on Mull and he asked if anyone else had had such problems. If so he offered to take up some action if there was a need. He did not say he was going to take action on Mull.


No but he was discussing it and I think the thread was partly what led to him spitting his dummy out as people quite rightly told him to leave well alone. Knowing his reputation for going ahead and starting these campaigns (in his car) and taking direct action as he calls it I like many did not want any such action taken in Mull of all places.

We never got a chance to discuss it at length as he left but not before threatening Phil the forum owner which was way out of order.


----------



## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

We cannot really argue about the truth of it now John because Andy demanded that every post in every thread he took part in was wiped from WC4MH otherwise he would take legal action against the Admin. Even his name had to be edited out.

We had some quite amusing posts whenever someone said 'that's handy', it came out as 'that's h****'. Of course members dreamt up loads of variations on the theme. :lol:


----------



## barryd (May 9, 2008)

747 said:


> We cannot really argue about the truth of it now John because Andy demanded that every post in every thread he took part in was wiped from WC4MH otherwise he would take legal action against the Admin. Even his name had to be edited out.
> 
> We had some quite amusing posts whenever someone said 'that's handy', it came out as 'that's h****'. Of course members dreamt up loads of variations on the theme. :lol:


I stayed out of his threads and campaigns and didnt really comment until the Mull thread. My suspicions of his motives also came into play when I discovered he wasnt a motorhomer and had started asking for money. This suspicion was further risen when he went to such lengths, threatening Phil and having all his posts removed because a few people started questioning him.

Surely he should have just come back and simply answered the doubters. It was almost like he had a lot to loose by people just questioning him. Just didnt feel right to me. I have a soft spot for wildcamping.co.uk and Phil has worked hard to keep it all going for I suspect little reward. I have known Phil a long time and know nothing about this chap at all.


----------



## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

Phil the owner of Wild, has been doing a fantastic job for years, unfortunately, he has had more than his fair share of Trolls.
Seems to have settled down now!
A stand up Guy!


----------



## kencocamper (May 1, 2005)

747 said:


> When you join him at Huttoft (not Skegness) please let us all know about your arrest for obstruction and how much you were fined please. :wink:


No arrests, no fines.
You must be really disappointed.


----------



## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

kencocamper said:


> 747 said:
> 
> 
> > When you join him at Huttoft (not Skegness) please let us all know about your arrest for obstruction and how much you were fined please. :wink:
> ...


Not at all but a few details might be worth mentioning. It will save me logging on to motorhomingwild to find out.

In fact here you are, this is what you should have attached to your post.

http://andystrangewayovernightparki...14/02/23/lincolnshire-direct-action-number-3/

I see that nobody parked close up to the height barrier (and blocked access as promised in the lead up to this action).


----------



## The-Cookies (Nov 28, 2010)

Its marvelous that you cant park at these locations now but people with quads and motorcross bikes can take over a mile of beach outside butlins with no marshalling or security and no police to stop anyone wandering on to the circuits , also cars and vans tearing up and down the prom where no vehicles are allowed.

John


----------

