Another motorhome "aire" bites the dust.

I stayed in the campsite in tramore once, it was a terrible experience and I'll never stay there again, if we can't park by splash world then we'll be bypassing tramore altogether , which is a shame as the whole family love the place, and we went there for an extra long weekend every year. And always spent a lot of money there, including in splash world.

campingcarist wrote: »

It seems to work in France. Even smaller places than Tramore have an Aire and many for free, some with facilities such as water, disposal of grey waste and provision for disposal of black waste (or should that be brown waste?).

yes it does work in France. I am not sure if it's to do with the amount of MH's/more all year round use/more tourists/bigger % of French MH users avail of aires rather than sites....?? I would love to see them here too but it is probably more difficult to make a case for them here than in France for some of the reasons above. It would be really nice to be able to park up in a small village for the night. There is an opening there for enterprising shop keepers/pub owners in rural Ireland to get in on the action. We could be waiting a long time for those in elected office to do anything.

*Kol* wrote: »

yes it does work in France. I am not sure if it's to do with the amount of MH's/more all year round use/more tourists/bigger % of French MH users avail of aires rather than sites....?? I would love to see them here too but it is probably more difficult to make a case for them here than in France for some of the reasons above. It would be really nice to be able to park up in a small village for the night. There is an opening there for enterprising shop keepers/pub owners in rural Ireland to get in on the action. We could be waiting a long time for those in elected office to do anything.

Yes it does work in France (and elsewhere in Europe), but why

The problem here is that so many people confuse free/wild camping with parking, there are those who use motorhomes who make the mistake innocently and there are those who want to see us confined to caravan and camping parks who do it maliciously.
What is provided in France is parking, however, camping free or otherwise is usually prohibited other than in caravan and camping parks.
The places known as Aires given their full title are Aire Stationnement pour Camping-car which literally means A Parking Area for Motor Caravans. The clue is in the title PARKING AREA, there is no mention of camping.

Here at home Cobh is a good example of a council providing a parking area and as such it is not in competition with any caravan and camping parks in the vicinity.

Is Splash World a private enterprise or is it Council owned ?.
If it's not a council owned enterprise the owner is quite within his rights to allow any category of vehicle he chooses to park in his car park and unless there is a condition in the planning permission which states that motor caravans may not park there the Council can go whistle.
This is what happened in the Galway Harbour Company verses Galway City Council situation last autumn when the City Council had to back down and reverse its demand that the Harbour Company stop allowing motorhomes park in its car park. There are other similar examples too.

Referring to parking a motorhome in a place where vehicle parking is permitted as free camping or wild camping is giving ammunition to those who seek to ban the over night parking of motorhomes other than in caravan and camping parks and needs to be stopped.
A motorhome PARKED is not CAMPED unless there is some external activity e.g. cooking or dining or occupancy the space with furniture or equipment of any kind associated with what might be done on a pitch in a caravan and camping park.
What a person does inside their vehicle can be of no concern to anyone, unless it is offensive to the general public.
An example might be loud music (disturbance of the peace), sexual activity with the blinds open (offensive to public morality).
However, cooking, eating, watching tv, reading a book, or sleeping cannot be deemed an offensive activity and therefore is not open to sanction.

The ongoing campaign for the creation of designated motorhome parking areas and the cessation of harassment of those who park in ordinary parking places is having some success as some councils and others are beginning to accept that motorhomes, being motor vehicles, are entitled to use the road (which includes car parks).
It is also beginning to be understood that motor caravans cannot be discriminated against and denied access to sections of the road based solely on the category of vehicle they fall into.

However, it must be accepted that occupying a parking space and using it as a camping pitch is in no ones interest.

Finally, from http://www.all-the-aires.com/,
Rules vary slightly from country to country but predominantly only motorhomes can use the motorhome stopovers. The law only permits 'Self Contained' motorhomes to be parked responsibly and their users to cook and sleep within them. A self-contained motorhome needs to have a toilet, water container for both fresh and waste water attached to or inside the vehicle, and you must be able to cook and sleep inside the vehicle. The law does not allow for camping, for example winding out awnings and putting out tables and chairs, or erecting a tent. If you want to camp, use a campsite.

Nivekork wrote: »

Thanks once again niloc for a concise definition of parking versus camping.
Just one point though - in relation to the right to park you say that:

"the owner is quite within his rights to allow any category of vehicle he chooses to park in his car parked and unless there is a condition in the planning permission which states that water caravans may not park there"

I just wonder what grounds/regulations/laws a council could use, besides safety, to justify including a condition in a planning permission preventing motor caravans from using a parking area since they are, as you say, private vehicles and cannot be discriminated against.

Or is it simply that they just assume they have the power, as seemed to have happened in Galway.

I suspect that your last sentence says it all :mad:.

The real issue is well put in the last sentence of Nilocs's first post. "The law does not allow for camping, for example winding out awnings and putting out tables and chairs, or erecting a tent. If you want to camp, use a campsite."

There is always somebody who will ignore this and taint the rest of the people who are parking. It makes it very difficult to lobby for parking areas when their intent is not respected.