Loading ...Aberfeldy Caravan Park Query Could P&K ‘organise the proverbial in a brewery?’ Unlikely on this showing !
Provided the rent is less than £26K per year, would it not be simpler and cheaper to the public purse just to shut down the operation and pay the rent direct to the Aberfeldy Common Good Fund ?
I’ve also heard that repairing flood damage has cost a significant amount. So whose bright idea was it to site a caravan park complete with electricity hook-up points on the flood plain of a river ? Perhaps a marina might be a better option for the future.
R Murray
4 Responses to “Aberfeldy Caravan Park”
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April 9th, 2011 at 10:20 am
Follow-up enquiries with a number of private caravan site operators have produced a consensus of opinion regarding the profitability (or lack of it) of the Aberfeldy site. The site fees were generally considered to be realistic for profitable operation, with some operators commenting that they were at the upper end of the price range for comparable sites.
All operators, especially those with personal knowledge of the site and its level of patronage, expressed dismay that it could consistently fail to show a profit. General opinion was that with the existing pricing structure and the level of business enjoyed, the income generated should guarantee an operating profit; that it did not, indicated that the chief suspect for the continuing losses was ineffective control of costs. This suggested a failure of strategic rather than frontline management.
One private operator observed – “ regardless of the reasons (for the losses) only a management able to dip into the public purse to finance its shortcomings and incompetence could continue for so long like this; any private operation would have gone out of business long since. “
January 25th, 2011 at 11:37 am
The losses to the public purse accrued by the Aberfeldy Caravan Park in the period 2005 -2010 are not “alleged” as stated by Mr Buchan, but are the actual losses shown in the financial figures for the operation as provided by P & K Council. Although the figures are not readily available, there are grounds for belief that the site was operating at a loss pre-2005.
The economic benefit of the site to Aberfeldy is not disputed, but it should not be allowed to obscure the real issues for the taxpayer:-
• a well patronised caravan site is unprofitable, bringing into question the competency of its operation and management;
• the losses span a continuous period of 5 years ( possibly more) and may well have continued indefinitely had Aberfeldy Community Council, prompted by concern at the low site rental, not asked P & K for disclosure of the site accounts;
• a lack of effective scrutiny and monitoring of the operation by councillors and senior council officials is indicated by the unchecked continuance of a loss-making operation;
• taxpayers outwith Aberfeldy are effectively cross-subsidising contributions to the Aberfeldy Common Good Fund;
• as income does not cover costs, taxpayers are also subsidising the fees paid by users of the site.
January 23rd, 2011 at 12:00 pm
I note with interest the balanced contibution by Mr Clements on the ‘alleged’ losses accrued at Aberfeldy Caravan Park.
In recent years Mr Paul Summers and his staff have worked hard to maintain the site in face of cutbacks from P&K Council, and I for one am surprised at the news that the site is run at a loss.
Mr Clements pointedly makes reference to the Park’s overall contribution to the town.
I am one of 80 seasonal occupants of the site and in 2010, my contibution to the town purse (shopping, restuarants, etc) was in the order of £3500. This figure does not include site fees.
By my reckoning an estimate of monies accrued by the town from the several hundred site users (seasonal, touring caravans and campers) would be in the order of £650,000 per annum.
Golf club and bowling club memberships and support must also be factored in.
In the past few years seasonal users have also contributed several hundred pounds to local charities (McMillan Nursing and the Old folks home being recent benficiaries).
It cannot be disputed that town has suffered in the current financial climate as reflected by shop closures, the loss of the Dewar’s tattoo, etc.
Aberfeldy needs all the financial support it can muster and needs Abefeldy Caravan Park and it’s many users more than ever.
I love Aberfeld and want to see the town prosper.
Roll On the 2011 season!
Tom Buchan
January 15th, 2011 at 10:58 am
We are currently pulling together information on the Caravan Park, and are lucky enough to have a number of people on Aberfeldy Community Council with business management and accountancy skills. We are getting support from the Cllrs in doing this.
We need to see the picture in the round, and we can then have a decent discussion on this.
The rent payable to the Common Good fund is £4500. In 1975 it was £4000.
It is our view that the caravan park can be managed better and that the Common Good Fund should be receiving a lot more than this.
The income to the caravan park is currently £150-180,000 annually. A PKC report in 200 suggested it was worth £570,000 to the economy of Aberfeldy, by the time spend in local shops was taken in to account.It will be worth much more now, and can arguably (and should) be worth much more in the future.
This is an important issue, which no doubt many people will wish to make comment on, but better for all concerned that we do our homework properly first and then see where we are, based on the facts as we know them.
The headline “£26,000 annual loss” only tells a small part of the story. We need to look at the figures behind this.