First 'Arosfan' opens in Gwynedd

MrSoapsud

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Article in the Daily Post here: https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/first-overnight-site-motorhomes-opened-28862988
This is Gwynedd Council's attempt at providing places for motorhomes to park up overnight, given that they're banning them from everywhere else and not everyone wants to use a camp site. Had a quick look last night since I was in Criccieth anyway. As the article says, it's £16.50/night for max 2 nights. For that you get a space on some tarmac. There's a fence between you and the railway line and some coaches parked up in the corner. You can just about see the Castle! On the way in is an "Aires Services" unit which looks very much like ones we saw in France. You can dump grey waste and empty toilets for free and you can pay for fresh water. This isn't linked to the parking spaces. There's also a sign which basically says "Don't enjoy yourself!" Wouldn't be my cup of tea but the emptying facilities may be useful.
BTW 'arosfa' is Welsh for 'a stop' - can you see what they did there??
Martin
 
Well I suppose we should look on it as "progress", recognising that not everyone wants to stay on a campsite. The photos show good spaces between "pitches" but the text says no chairs etc; it looks like they are installing drive over grids for grey water, so that shows understanding.

I've looked at the "MH banned" list of sites using google maps but I can't see how height limits can be constructed at most of them.

Thanks for the info - Gordon
 
Norfolk NewBoy said:
Well I suppose we should look on it as "progress", recognising that not everyone wants to stay on a campsite. The photos show good spaces between "pitches" but the text says no chairs etc; it looks like they are installing drive over grids for grey water, so that shows understanding.
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The marked spaces are very well spaced out - the sign might have said 6m between them? You can just about see where the old car park spaces were under the yellow stripes. The "bays" are long too - at least double the length of a car space. There is *one* drive over grid for grey water near the Aires machine. Next time I'm there in daylight I'll try to get a photo of the "No fun!" sign!
 
MrSoapsud said:
The marked spaces are very well spaced out - the sign might have said 6m between them? You can just about see where the old car park spaces were under the yellow stripes. The "bays" are long too - at least double the length of a car space. There is *one* drive over grid for grey water near the Aires machine. Next time I'm there in daylight I'll try to get a photo of the "No fun!" sign!
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How many motorhome spaces?
As I understand it, the £16.50/night is from 1600-1000 and I assume that there is also a charge for using the spaces during the daytime - perhaps the £5.50 for 12 hours applicable to cars? Plus the £3 for 10 minutes of water. I think that I prefer France!
 
"Nine bays are available at Criccieth’s Y Maes car park".
Actually, I'll check next time I'm there - the £16.50 *might* have been for 24 hours...
 
The £16.50 is just for 16:00 to 10:00.
Some photos, including the "No Camping Behaviour" sign!

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I read that as £11 for 24 hrs and £16.50 if you’re disabled in a motorhome! Which very poorly written,
Surely the £11 for 24 hours allows you to stay overnight
 
That was also my thoughts: presumably you can "park" in an ordinary spot (for £11) but only "sleep" in the designated MH places (for £16.50)?

Do you then add £1.10 plus £2.20 for an extra 2h plus 4h to enable parking for 24h OR do you have to pay £5;50 for "up to 12h"?
There are, of course, penalties for failing to display a valid ticket or exceeding the time on the ticket etc, so we probably can't use the 2h+4h combination!

Gordon
 
It's a step in the right direction, seems a bit expensive but not using site I'm not sure.

Could you drive in empty and drive out or is there a charge for it?
 
"It's a step in the right direction " I agree, hope more Council people/folk get off there Shiny A###'s to sort more of these out around the UK.
 
I presume the Disabled icon in the Motorhome bay bit is to override the Disabled Free bit above. In the penalties is one for sleeping anywhere but the MH bays. There's no apparent mechanism for charging to empty grey water and/or loo waste.
I don't know what the recognised sites in the area charge and I don't know whether they might be encouraged to compete with this, or raise their prices even further because of all the extra facilities they provide?
 
£16.50 plus £3 for water = £19.50 = more or less a regular camp site fee. I'd rather stay on a camp site, if I was that way inclined. France and Germany don't charge more than €3 for overnight plus water plus dump, if anything at all. Or a Tourist Tax.
Let me think . . . .where will I go this year? . . . . . .




France and Germany. The ferry fee is less than UK camp site fees if you go for more than 7 nights.
 
andyjanet said:
I read that as £11 for 24 hrs and £16.50 if you’re disabled in a motorhome! Which very poorly written,
Surely the £11 for 24 hours allows you to stay overnight
Click to expand...
Yes, I'll pay £11 (if I am stuck there of course) for 24 hrs. I'll argue in English so they won't understand me. If they march me off to the Police Station I will claim racial prejudice, and claim to my right to converse in my native tongue, and demand an interpreter at the Welsh Government's expense.

Well, that's what non-English speaking people do here in Leicester where the majority population do not feel inclined to speak English so the Doctor's surgeries have all their leaflets and posters printed in about eleven different languages. They claim they do not speak English, and get their mate to come as an 'interpreter' who gets paid £75 per visit. Then they both leave the surgery merrily chatting away in English.
Personally if I were to emigrate to for instance France, I would learn to speak French properly.

By the way on a slightly connected subject can anyone confirm what I think is right? :
By 'parked within a bay' or 'parked within the marked area' am I right in thinking that if your tyres are inside or on the white lines marking a parking bay, then you are parked within the bay? Thinking of course of the overhang, front and rear.
 
gasgas said:
Yes, I'll pay £11 (if I am stuck there of course) for 24 hrs. I'll argue in English so they won't understand me. If they march me off to the Police Station I will claim racial prejudice, and claim to my right to converse in my native tongue, and demand an interpreter at the Welsh Government's expense.

Well, that's what non-English speaking people do here in Leicester where the majority population do not feel inclined to speak English so the Doctor's surgeries have all their leaflets and posters printed in about eleven different languages. They claim they do not speak English, and get their mate to come as an 'interpreter' who gets paid £75 per visit. Then they both leave the surgery merrily chatting away in English.
Personally if I were to emigrate to for instance France, I would learn to speak French properly.

By the way on a slightly connected subject can anyone confirm what I think is right? :
By 'parked within a bay' or 'parked within the marked area' am I right in thinking that if your tyres are inside or on the white lines marking a parking bay, then you are parked within the bay? Thinking of course of the overhang, front and rear.
Click to expand...
I suspect that if any part of the vehicle were outside the marked bay, you would be regarded as causing an obstruction. Note that they are quite clear about that in respect of Arosfan bays and vehicle length.
 
That's fine, if they state it on their signposts. The last time I saw anything definitive on the subject it said that if the wheels are inside the lines then it is parked within the marked bays. So I'll have to read the signs carefully.
 
If you do visit Wales, please leave your problems with your neighbours at home. You'll find the Council enforcement officers are fluent in both Welsh and English. I'd accept that some aspects of the signage could be clearer but the £11 charge is only for 24 hours parking - sleeping in the vehicle other than in the MH bays will trigger a Penalty Notice (if anyone happens to come to check).
In the case of the Arosfan, the bays are the length of 2 car spaces and wider than the old car spaces so there really shouldn't be a problem parking within them.
 
Just an update - the water wasn't Out of Order for long. When I visited last Saturday morning while I was in Criccieth there were 5 vans parked up.

arosfan.jpg
 
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