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Ribble Valley award, don’t cop a £2,500 fine, no to Bosley campsite, Camping and Caravanning Market Report

This is more like it! After a fairly damp and chilly start to this year’s caravanning season, (at the time of writing!) the weather seems to have taken a turn for the better with many parts of the country welcoming temperatures in the upper twenties.

So, find a little bit of shade for your cosy camping chair and catch up with some of the following news headlines.

Transformational Tourism Award win for Ribble Valley holiday park

Ribble Valley Holiday Park – once known as Rimington Leisure Park – has won the prestigious Transformational Tourism Award.

The Lancashire camping site – for touring and static caravans, cabins, and glamping pods – put its back to the wheel during the challenging period of closures forced on it by the Covid pandemic . The work paid off in many areas and resulted in the holiday park winning the award announced in the Caravan Times recently.

Thanks to expansion and extensive upgrading, the capacity of all types of holiday homes has doubled, pathways and roads have been resurfaced, a new play area for children was built, a dog-walking sector was created, and the park’s bar area extended. All the while, the holiday park continued to deliver the “exceptional customer service” recognised by the award.

Caravan owners warned breaking new laws could lead to £2,500 fine

With the caravanning season now in full swing, the Daily Mirror on the 19th of June reminded caravan owners to check that they are street-legal whenever they take to the roads. Failure to pay sufficient attention to three major – but frequently overlooked – aspects of towing with a caravan could end up with you facing steep fines, points on your licence, or worse:

Driving licence

  • if you passed your driving test after 1997, you are qualified to tow a caravan if the car you are using and the trailer itself together weigh up to 3,500kg;
  • calculate that combined weight carefully if you want to avoid a potential fine of up to £2,500;
  • if you passed your driving test before 1997, the combined weight of the vehicle and caravan may be up to 8.25 tonnes;

Lights

  • perhaps because you use them much less often than those on your car, the lights on your caravan can sometimes get overlooked;
  • that could be an expensive oversight since defective lights on your trailer could earn you a fine of up to £2,500, three points on your licence, or a driving ban;

Tyres

  • the tread depth of the tyres on your caravan is also at least as critical as your car – faulty tyres can also land you with a £2,500 fine and three points on your licence.

Cheshire: Plans for caravan and camping site in Bosley recommended for refusal

A planning application for a caravan and camping site at Bosley seems unlikely to be met with approval, according to a story in the Northwich and Winsford Guardian on the 24th of June.

Responding to an application to establish a site of 74 caravan and camping pitches on a site bounded by two major A roads, planning officers have commented that:

  • the scale of the proposed site is out of proportion to its setting and location;
  • it would have a detrimental impact on the character of the surrounding countryside; and
  • there appears to be little evidence of any demand for the proposed caravan and camping site.

UK Camping and Caravanning Market Report 2024

The publication of the UK Camping and Caravanning Market Report for 2024 contains a wealth of encouraging signs for the industry.

For example, it found that in the past three years, 47% of all adults in Britain enjoyed at least one caravanning or camping holiday. Mintel – the report’s authors – estimate that the domestic market achieved earnings of some £2.1 billion in 2023.

There appear to be a host of reasons why people like to camp:

  • the health-conscious see it as a way to improve their overall wellbeing;
  • those wanting to develop a first-hand relationship with nature praise the benefits of camping and caravanning; and
  • those anxious about their finances find that camping and caravanning is a budget-conscious solution to their holiday planning.

Given these positive foundations, the report predicts that further innovations in the industry will make caravanning and camping even more comfortable, convenient, and cost-effective – so, boosting still further the positive nature of the market.