Caravan Club update

An email was received from the regional manager of the Caravan & Motorhome Club about the caravan site in Baslow:

I am Ian Spendliove and I am the Regional Manager for the Caravan Club.  I oversee the site in Baslow.

May we say first of all that we are very aware of the disruption that our arrivals sometimes cause to the neighbourhood especially on a Sunday. Measures have always been in place to try to avoid the backlog at the entrance. Members are told on our website and in their confirmation email NOT to arrive before 1pm and their confirmation email even offers suggested stopping places on route for those who find themselves having made better time than they had envisaged when commencing their journey to us [the site in Baslow].

Although it is the minority rather than the majority, we appreciate that it only takes a few units to arrive early to cause disruption.

Our relationship with the local community is very important to us. We like to think that we add something positive, especially to the local businesses and we certainly do not want that positivity to be eroded away by the problem that our arrivals can cause.

We have, therefore, now introduced a new system whereby we take the barrier chain down at 12.30 and bring the members down the lane to a lay-by just beyond the bridge into the site where they are requested to wait until 1pm when we can then check them in. We are hopeful that this will alleviate the problem. We are also writing to all members who arrive early to highlight to them the issues that they have caused. 

The reason why we can’t let members onto site before 1.00pm is due to the lane being ¾ of a mile long and single track. We have experienced problems with both members trying to arrive and depart at the same time which has caused major congestion. As such by having an arrival time of 1pm, that gives us a one hour period to ensure they have all left before any new arrivals. There also needs to be a window for members staying on site to be able to come and go during their stay.

The downside of our new system is that we now have to advise them not to try to leave the site between 12.30 and 2pm   Without the chain, before long members would start arriving even earlier and eventually there would be no gap between departures and arrivals.  

If there is anything that residents of the local community would like to discuss with us at any time then please feel free to contact the on site team or even pop in to see them.

May we take this opportunity to wish the local community all the very best for he New Year.

Ian Spendlove
Regional Manager, Middle England & East Anglia