My ambition - Your thought please

[Chris_Hyde_Cheshire.]

I have an ambition of one day owning my own touring site, I dont know if it would be a field that I build up from scratch or a ready developed site. Either way it will be at the very least 5 years away. Has anybody any thoughts on which would be the best way to go as I am going to start researching the topic soon. I know a site that is already up and running will be a lot more expensive, but there again is it better to start small and turn it into just how you want it?............

Any thoughts / advice greatly appreciated.

Chris.

 

[Mel]

Can't help you with the business plan, but if you don't have any expereince of running a touring site it may be worth trying to get a position as an assistant warden on one of the CC or C&CC sites. This may give you a better idea of which way to go. Good luck with the venture.
mel

 

[trickydicky]

Hello Chris,
If you were to start with an empty field,then I think you would need planning permission from the local council,which would not be guaranteed at all and could well be refused.You would need to discuss it with them before you made any investmen
Cheers Richard

 

[Chris_Hyde_Cheshire.]

Hi Richard, I appreciate that before any property / land is acquired there must be planning permission in place. I have been building a database of useful contacts for the future and there are a few county council planning depts in there already......

Chris.

 

[Nigel196]

I would also recommend you read a set of books written by Gordon Channer. He had the same idea of setting up a caravan site in Cornwall and these books (five in all) describe how he went about it and give a very good warts and all account. I can't remember the exact titles at the moment , but one was something like 'A Buzzard Calls'. Sure a search will produce titles. Nigel

 

[followmycaravan]

go for it man, dont give your life to something that you dont have passion for it.

 

[LMH]

go for it man, dont give your life to something that you dont have passion for it.

Hi Followmycaravan

You're breaking the forum etiquette rule with the advert in your signature: (You may not transmit any advertising or promotional material).

Think it's best you remove it.

Lisa

 

[Damian]

The signature referred to has been removed.
It was in breach of Forum Etiquette and therefore not allowed to stay, or be reinstated.

 

[OmOnWeelz]

Chris
Why not tell us what you plan to do with your 'site' and what you plan for a starting point and what you plan to offer in the future and then we could all respond.
Starting with good quality toilets and showers with cubicles that you can swing a cat in and have somewhere to keep you clotes and footwear dry would be a good start. Good entrance access. Plenty of water points and clear of pitches and good draianage of the site and the waste water. No one wants to pitch and then find they are in a bog after a bit or rain. Waste bins, we've yet to fathom out how some site owners feel that pitches can be near waste bin areas when they can smell and attract wasps and flies in the summer.
If you can manage the maintenance hedged pitches that provide privacy and stop others wandering on to surrounding pitches or cutting across them is a good way to go. Sites with nice gardening features always seem more welcoming.
We're also often amazed that many UK sites don't even offer just a few basics such as milk, coffee, tea, sugar, or bacon and eggs. Surely most of us have got to a site and realised we've left one of them at home or we never got to the shops . Unless you have a large site a shop is not viable but a few basics that earn you a small extra profit and give the customers something to eat or drink if they need it is not difficult to offer these days.
Obviously planting takes time to get established.
Ros

 

[RayS]

As a first step go to the CC website and download thier information for those wishing to start a CL. This could be a good way of trying the idea without too much capital outlay. Assuming you started with sufficient land, it should be possible to 'convert' to a commercial site later, and the fact you would be changing an existing site rather than making a new one may ease the planning problems.

 

[Past_it]

I think your thoughts are highly commendable, but if you want to buy a field and start from scratch your biggest problem will be planning permission and red tape and "the not in my backyard" brigade.
Maybe they think it will turn out like a travellers site.

 

[colinw1]

I looked into it a few years ago.

I seem to remember that one of the property/business for sale web sites I looked at had tons of info, and that there are certified courses out there. But the best bit of advice I found - was to get a job paid or un-paid) at a site and discover what it entails. When you've taken the plunge and bought a site, get the previous owners to stay on for a few months to show you the ropes.
I seem to remember that I trawled the interlink for months researching the subject before giving up on it for some reason.

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

hi Chris.
highly comendable go for it mate. myself I allways wanted to run a commercial fishery but blew the chance 25years ago when a house came up for sale with a 2acre lake behind it, at the time 30grand seemed an awful lot of money but we all know what happend to the property market a few years later, many's the day I have thought "if only"

as a by and buy so to speak while we were down cornwall in the spring we came across a site that was up for sale it comprised of a 5 bedroom house 2 rooms set out as a B&B, 25 pitch site with EHU's and with a full shower block, 4acres of land ajacent, a holiday cottage across the road with 2 statics in the back garden, and 1/2 a mile of river at the btm of the site and the price £395,000, all freehold now that is not a lot of money when you consider the set up costs. after buying the house and land.
just a thought.

colin.

 

[Chris_Hyde_Cheshire.]

Yes that is a good price, nice area too. Wonder if it will still be for sale in about 5 years.......