After years of work, the Jersey Camping and Touring Club has published plans which it hopes will see dozens more camping areas opened across the Island and ease pressure on the overcrowded Le Port site in St Ouen’s Bay.
Currently Jersey has just three official camp sites – Beuvelande, Rozel and Daisy Cottage. Campervan usage was tolerated at Le Port, despite it being illegal to sleep in a vehicle at an unauthorised site, until a clampdown was announced earlier this year.
After meeting interested parties, including St Peter Constable Richard Vibert, Senator Steve Pallett and users of Le Port, Steve Gladdish and Francis Pinglaux of the Camping and Touring Club have published proposals to modernise the Island’s camping system, including:
- Introducing a new permit system for motorhomes, with licences to be displayed in accredited vehicles. The system could be two tier, differentiating between fully self-contained vehicles which could stay at any site, and lower-grade vans that would only stay at sites with additional facilities.
- Working with businesses around the Island, including bars and restaurants, so that they open their car parks for overnight stays similar to the Passion and Britstops systems in France and the UK. Campers would need to use the business and pay to use the car park overnight.
- Working with the States and parishes to open up spaces in countryside car parks across the Island for overnight stays, while being mindful of leaving plenty of space for other users.
- Setting up a website called jerseyovernightstops.com as a register for participating car parks and to set up a booking system for campers.
Mr Gladdish said that many motorhome users, including him, would prefer to use quieter sites than Le Port for camping, but were currently unable to do so.
‘If we had other areas to go to, then we wouldn’t use Le Port. We only use it because it is the only site like that where motorhome usage is tolerated,’ he said.
‘What we need to change first is the law, so you can sleep in a vehicle or trailer overnight. We only have two to three campsites left in the Island and they are closed from October to April.
‘But we have more than 500 motorhomes in Jersey and the number is rising every year. This is not going to cost a lot of money and it would benefit so many people.’
An example of a site which the pair said would be perfect for a small number of motorhomes to stay in is the car park neighbouring the sand dunes between La Pulente and Le Braye.
‘It’s a sheltered site and it is not in the view of any homes. What we don’t want to do is to upset anyone,’ said Mr Pinglaux.
‘What we want is a permit system in place, so that only campervans which meet requirements can use the sites and can stay for up to two nights there.
‘For pubs and restaurants it would be up to the owner of the pub how long they could stay. Converted vans will be alright and it won’t take that much money to make the necessary upgrades. Things that will be needed are checks for gas safety and a grey-water encatchment tank. The idea is what you take with you you take away – all that you leave behind is your tyre tracks.’
He added that he thought toilet facilities should be built at Le Port so lower-tier motorhomes could continue to use the site.
