Roys Of Wroxham

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ldobingw
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Roys Of Wroxham

Post by ldobingw »

Good morning Sir

My name is Les and I write as a resident of Wroxham and a motorhome owner.
I am also a member of several national rapidly growing motorhome groups – The Caravan and Motorhome Club, The Caravan and Camping Club and CAMpRA (the Campaign for Real Aires).

https://campra.org.uk/

We are a national group of volunteers seeking to promote the establishment of Aires/additional overnight parking in the UK, similar to those in Europe.
You might be aware that France, Spain and Portugal are hugely popular and visited by many thousands of motorhome tourists, because almost every town, village and supermarket provides facilities for and welcomes motorhomes.
There are nearly 400,000 motorhome owners in the UK and this figure is growing fast due to “staycations” and there are many times this figure in Europe. Many of whom do not come to the UK because there are currently very few the Aires and parking facilities which they are accustomed to.

At present the UK has hardly any Aires, but through raising awareness, many businesses are responding very positively and are keen to take the initiative. Many pubs now accept motorhomes over night by either charging a small fee or on the provisor that a meal etc is purchased at their establishment.

Research shows that:
Motorhome visitors are likely to spend an average of £50 per day when visiting an area.
The majority are retirees with disposable income, as families generally tend to favour caravans.
Motorhomes are self sufficient as far as facilities are concerned and owners would be very keen to visit our area but parking and overnight stops are an issue.
Motorhomers very rarely use campsites, preferring to overnight close to scenic walks, restaurants and pubs.
Motorhomers rarely stay in hotels or B&Bs, therefore any provision for an Aire/parking would not be in competition with these providers.

I am contacting Roys as you have ownership and provide the majority of car parking spaces in Hoveton, but there is no obvious provision for motorhome parking by day and certainly no provision for overnight parking.
This means that your car parks remain empty overnight, including the little used overspill space close to the train station.
Were you to embrace this initiative and encourage motorhomes, you would raise additional income should you wish to charge a fee, however they would provide your business with additional income through shop purchases and bring in extra revenue to the area.
(Fees vary and are generally governed by the level of facilities provided. For instance, the provision of fresh water and a chemical waste disposal point is an additional benefit and might attract a higher fee).

I suspect any concerns you might have will be with regard to the 'wrong' people using these car parks/sites so, the founders at CAMpRA, have carried out research and discovered the following:

1) The presence of motorhomes deters criminals - lots of extra pairs of eyes – just display a contact number for police/security.

2) In rural areas, it has mostly eliminated fly tipping.

3) It can generate a fair amount of revenue which would offset any (minimal) costs involved.

4) We are associated with the 'Wild & Wombling Motorhomers' whose mission is to clear up litter after other people.

There are massive networking opportunities between motorhomers’ social media groups, mobile phone apps to advertise availability and there would be lots of free advertising of the area as a tourist destination.

I have recently received quite a positive response from James Knight, Director of Norfolk Broads Direct with regards to the same request. Having made members aware of this on social media, it has received over 200 positive responses from group members in one week.

I am a retired ex serviceman and more than happy to help to initiate something or if I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter and I look forward to any feedback or comments.

Regards
Steve
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Re: Roys Of Wroxham

Post by Steve »

Another good letter 👍
Don’t forget the small tourist business especially those off the main routes, they need to attract visitors and even if they have no parking a waste point will be like honey to a bee👍

Its a great way to get free publicity to 158,000 motorcaravan owners, attract year round tourist.
Steve - CAMpRA Leadership Team
ldobingw
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Re: Roys Of Wroxham

Post by ldobingw »

Good Morning Les


Thank you for your email. I have passed it on to Wroxham and Hoveton’s area manager for their consideration.


Kind Regards

Victoria
Roys Customer Service Team
CShel
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Re: Roys Of Wroxham

Post by CShel »

The Overflow Coach and car park beside the station.
This is an ideal location, close to the river and boats, and to the tourist railway up to Aylsham.

I have phoned the Roy’s Head Office twice to ask for a contact name for my email, sent them and both times received no acknowledgement. December was peak time for Lockdown, but I can’t believe they didn’t see my email after the receptionist reassuring me it would be considered.

I think this is a very important and strategic place for an aire, and it’s on the East Anglia Coastal Tour route.

Good luck, Les. I look forward to hearing about any response.

Welcome to our East Anglia / Norfolk group
ldobingw
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Re: Roys Of Wroxham

Post by ldobingw »

Good morning

Further to our previous correspondence, I was wondering if anyone has had chance to look at my email please?

By way of moving forward, CAMpRA has grown at such pace, that it is now a “not for profit” registered company:

I am pleased to announce that CAMpRA has now taken the next step in our evolution and the leadership team has formed a NOT FOR PROFIT Company limited by guarantee.
The company is registered as CAMpRA UK Ltd.
Why have we taken this step and what does it mean to our 22,000 group members?
CAMpRA has grown from 200 members in July to over 22,000 and together with the groups associated with CAMpRA, we have access to over 600,000 motorcaravan owners.
CAMpRA is already recognised by councils, tourism and professional bodies and UK Government as the main source of information on Aires in the UK. In order to negotiate with these bodies, to have a voice within
these groups and to participate as stakeholders in decisions being made that affect the future of all motorcaravan owners in the UK, we felt it was necessary to move from being a group of volunteers to being a registered company. The leadership team felt it was important to maintain free membership of our group and remain a non profit organisation.

If we continue to work together to promote the benefits of overnight parking and waste disposal points in the UK we will achieve the same freedom and welcome that we find in the rest of Europe.

Donald Macdonald

CAMpRA UK Ltd
President

They have also produced a guide for facilities and requirement and a star rated certificate according to the facilities provided. (See attached).

I look forward to receiving your comments and feedback.

Regards

Les Wood
ldobingw
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Re: Roys Of Wroxham

Post by ldobingw »

Good Afternoon Les

I hope that you are well.

I have spoken to Jamie, Wroxham’s General Manager, about your enquiry. He has said that they are currently reviewing the facilities Roys offers and he will be in touch in due course if this something that Roys would like to progress with in the future.

Kind Regards

Victoria
Roys Customer Service Team
CShel
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Re: Roys Of Wroxham

Post by CShel »

Hi Les

So you have a response from Victoria in Roy’s Customer Services Team! Great!
Can you show the email address and we can also write, if that’s ok with you?

I’m looking to add lots more stopover sites onto the East Anglia Coastal Tour route.

Cheers
Charles
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