We are existing members of the National Trust and often enjoy visiting their sites up and down the country. One of our favourite sites is Shugborough Hall. We are also owners of a motorhome and would love to spend more time at Shugborough to enjoy the splendid grounds there. We wondered if a small area of the car park at the site would be a suitable location for motorhomes/campervans to be accommodated overnight. If a fee were to be charged, this would be a great opportunity for the Trust to generate additional revenue and allow ‘touring’ visitors more time for their visit.
We would like to propose overnight parking (not camping) be available for self contained motorhomes or camper vans with our common code of responsible parking - LEAVE NO TRACE. If, for example, the Trust charged members £5 to stay overnight and non members £10, and using the existing level 5 exemption certificate which allows overnight stays for 5 vans with no outlay, they could potentially generate between £175 to £350 per week.
As motorhomes often tour for 12 months of the year, a site like Shugborough Hall could easily have year round occupancy. Even a conservative estimate of 40 weeks of the year would have a return of £7,000 to £14,000 per annum. There would also be an increase in spending at the gift shop and cafe as well as an increase in membership. This increase would be utilising the existing exemption certificate, however, if the Trust had permission to allow 10 motorhomes on site, the annual revenue increases to £28,000 with no outlay from the Trust.
Paul & Helen Hyland