Sandy Balls Gone
- Thread starter thedoog1
- Start date
Gutted,We used it last year as its right between both my brothers houses,so was great for a break and family catchup.
Let’s hope other sites don’t follow . Could be the end of the tourer :woohoo:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-45796523
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-45796523
There is a beautiful area of ancient woodland near to us called Brokerswood. When our kids and grandkids were young we often took them out there and it was just woodland with secret paths and old trees to explore. Then it set up a camping and caravan site in an adjacent meadow. Quite a nice site with the normal facilities. Then areas of the woodland were excluded to non residents and adventure activities started to be undertaken. Then non residents could not go just to enjoy the woods as they were mostly taken over for residents. Then Haulfryn group acquired permission for luxury lodges and the associated essentials of sauna and hit tub etc. Result tourers and campers seemed to be excluded if my web search is correct. But if that’s what the market is looking for business has to respond or die.
Hoburne Holiday Park Cirencester near me also stopped taking tourers a short while back.
Not good for us tuggers, the death knell on the horizon :woohoo: :woohoo:
Not good for us tuggers, the death knell on the horizon :woohoo: :woohoo:
thedoog1 said:
Yes many times before it went astray some years back. Christmas trees from the plantation near to the tin church too.
Craigyoung said:
Quite right. Whether it is consumer led or marketing led demand if a business doesn’t respond it doesn’t last long when profits turn to loss. I also think that people’s aspirations for more has an effect in a businesses strategy. At a lower level who would have predicted the features now expected in a touring caravan where even the starter ranges are better equipped than many mid ranges 10 years ago. Take the spread of serviced pitches which tend to be larger so either reducing the number of standard pitches or putting more pitches on a site with increased pitch costs. Times are changing, but was ever thus I guess.
I had not heard of this but statics are more profitable so once they can fill a site with them, tourers get the push. We do not use that type of site though so other than it possibly putting some pressure on the type we do use it will not affect us but families might have problems.
I'm just culling some old PC magazines and came across this in the April 2017 edition ""Away Resorts CEO Carl Castledine is keen to reassure Sandy Balls' many fans that:: "We very much want to retain the heritage of the estate and the fantastic experience that it provides for its guests". The company has investment plans, but Castledine also says: "We will not be changing the overall feel of the place that so many people love. You can still expect to receive the same facilities services and warm welcome."
Clearly a man of his word......
Clearly a man of his word......
Dustydog said:Niall_McIntosh said:
Totally.. A politicians answer if ever I saw one.
My late Grandparents had a touring caravan for which they eventually had a seasonal pitch. They then sold the tourer for a static at the same site; the main reason they gave it up was the annual rent. This went from a few hundred per year, to a few thousand. The same site today has converted one of the touring fields into statics and expanded into an unused field I would play in as a kid. They still take tourers, but the guaranteed big money must be in the "Holiday Home" market.
Yet the contradiction is that touring caravan ownership , and motor homes, continues to rise year on year. As you say it all comes down to money
It was hard to decipher, but the NCC have information which seems to suggest annual growth in Holiday Homes/Static caravan delivered to UK sites. Perhaps this is not as widely reported as the touring caravans and motorhomes sales.Dustydog said:Yet the contradiction is that touring caravan ownership , and motor homes, continues to rise year on year. As you say it all comes down to money
We went there in March 2017, and there were men with measuring equipment everywhere. Other people on the site at the time said they were planning going to lose the tourers, so no great shock.
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