More Costs at Shoreham
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More Costs at Shoreham
Hi all, word of warning.
I have been flying at shoreham for several years and always fed the pay and display meters. I was told that when I went away overnight or if i was late back and overan the parking ticket it was ok because i was flying there and they did not have clamps.
I have not been there for a while and got my ticket and overan accidentally.
I came to my car to find it had been clamped. he release fee was £85 plus £5 surcharge for paying with a debit card!
I paid and wrote to the airport saying that on top of flying costs and practicalities I was not happy. I got a reply that it was signed etc etc. nothing about the customer care issues.
I have accepted I had to pay but will not carryout any further flying from there. Goodwood and Redhill are convenient for me also and appear to be more aviation orientated and cheaper
PG
I have been flying at shoreham for several years and always fed the pay and display meters. I was told that when I went away overnight or if i was late back and overan the parking ticket it was ok because i was flying there and they did not have clamps.
I have not been there for a while and got my ticket and overan accidentally.
I came to my car to find it had been clamped. he release fee was £85 plus £5 surcharge for paying with a debit card!
I paid and wrote to the airport saying that on top of flying costs and practicalities I was not happy. I got a reply that it was signed etc etc. nothing about the customer care issues.
I have accepted I had to pay but will not carryout any further flying from there. Goodwood and Redhill are convenient for me also and appear to be more aviation orientated and cheaper
PG
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I have since found that several others have been caught by this. One concern being voiced but ignored is if you fly away and the weather deteriorates, will the pressure of £90 fine drive some to take off when they should stay on the ground?
Shoreham charges £20 landing fees, I have already found my alternative and with the Flying I have cancelled, even if the airport got the full amount from the release fee, they are still in deficit. The organisation hiring the aircraft has lost considerably more.
I asked what happens when you take a plane away for a few days and there is at present no system to pay for more than one day so you will get clamped. A great understanding of aviation in the airport management then.................
or maybe, just maybe, this is the Plymouth scenario the owners making business difficut to justify closing it and building on the land??????
Shoreham charges £20 landing fees, I have already found my alternative and with the Flying I have cancelled, even if the airport got the full amount from the release fee, they are still in deficit. The organisation hiring the aircraft has lost considerably more.
I asked what happens when you take a plane away for a few days and there is at present no system to pay for more than one day so you will get clamped. A great understanding of aviation in the airport management then.................
or maybe, just maybe, this is the Plymouth scenario the owners making business difficut to justify closing it and building on the land??????
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There is a system to pay for more than one day. Go to the helpful ladies on the information desk in the terminal and pay £2 per day and they will give you a ticket to put in your car specifying the date that it expires. You need to park in the long term parking area. If you are not certain about your date of return, perhaps paying a day or two extra is better than risking a clamping.
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There is a system to pay for more than one day. Go to the helpful ladies on the information desk in the terminal and pay £2 per day and they will give you a ticket to put in your car specifying the date that it expires. You need to park in the long term parking area. If you are not certain about your date of return, perhaps paying a day or two extra is better than risking a clamping.
How can you know when you are able to return. You might know when you plan to return but incidents and weather can conspire to prevent that. It would be much easier to buy a ticket on entry and pay as you leave.
Or do they, like many other places, want the fines for over-staying?
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Silvaire1, every entry point to the airfield is blocked off so you would have to fly your car in if you wanted to "park the car in the hole the airplane came out of" and you would have to pay 33 bucks landing fee and pay for the coffee if you were thirsty! Yes, GA is really friendly in the UK; you should recommend it to your friends 
Robin, The car park is open, there are no barriers, it is "pay and display" only
Robin, The car park is open, there are no barriers, it is "pay and display" only
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Shoreham has struggled with parking control for more years than I can remember.
For many years, you could park anywhere. It kind of worked, except that the place was exploited as a free car park for car pools (car sharing, whereby four people drive in, park 3 cars for the day, and then continue to the workplace in the 4th car).
Then Northbrook College got going and this soaked up a lot of parking, making the old system unworkable. Students have too much money these days
Today, based pilots and employees can get permits, which entitle them to specific car parks. Visitors have to pay up on a meter. This seems to control the traffic, though the restaurant business has gone way down AFAICT.
The present £90 fine size is way OTT, although you do get a £90 ticket at any number of streets in Brighton.
For many years, you could park anywhere. It kind of worked, except that the place was exploited as a free car park for car pools (car sharing, whereby four people drive in, park 3 cars for the day, and then continue to the workplace in the 4th car).
Then Northbrook College got going and this soaked up a lot of parking, making the old system unworkable. Students have too much money these days
Today, based pilots and employees can get permits, which entitle them to specific car parks. Visitors have to pay up on a meter. This seems to control the traffic, though the restaurant business has gone way down AFAICT.
The present £90 fine size is way OTT, although you do get a £90 ticket at any number of streets in Brighton.
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IO540, re based pilots permits, it does not seem to apply to us renters. My ticket overan by about 25mins. The chance of adding £90 to hire costs if I have to delay getting back because of the weather has made my mind up, business to another field. I have paid my fee and the thread was a warning to others but as someone who has run a full blown sms in the aviation industry I am concerned that the pressure on pilots to return when they should not has not been considered.
GA is having a hard enough time, I am told that Shoreham itself is down on movements and fees. I am further told that the airport mgt is from the retail sector and not aviation. If all this is true, the future of the place is far from assured and discouraging pilots seems an odd tactic
GA is having a hard enough time, I am told that Shoreham itself is down on movements and fees. I am further told that the airport mgt is from the retail sector and not aviation. If all this is true, the future of the place is far from assured and discouraging pilots seems an odd tactic
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Clamping
If memory serves, the way this kind of thing works is the owner of the land wants to control parking, but not employ their own staff to set up the operation, so outsources to a "private parking control firm". These guys usually get to keep a significant amount of each clamp release fee, so are incentivised to clamp whenever possible.
It's the devils own bargain. I've seen a landowner arguing with the clamper about not fitting a clamp to a member of staff's car, the answer was sod off and read your contract.
Sooner they're gone the better ...
It's the devils own bargain. I've seen a landowner arguing with the clamper about not fitting a clamp to a member of staff's car, the answer was sod off and read your contract.
Sooner they're gone the better ...
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You could also submit a "CHIRP" report highlighting the flight safety implications.
I once visited this a/d driving, and found the atmosphere so unenjoyable that I swore never to come there flying.
Of course, one should never say "never"...
Sad for the beautiful historic terminal building, couldn't this be protected or classified for its artistic/cultural interest?
Of course, one should never say "never"...
Sad for the beautiful historic terminal building, couldn't this be protected or classified for its artistic/cultural interest?
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Sad for the beautiful historic terminal building, couldn't this be protected or classified for its artistic/cultural interest?
Back to the original post, there are signs quite clearly displaying the costs of parking, the potential costs for not paying the appropriate fee and, as Lysander quite correctly points out, Poltergiest could have easily avoided the whole issue if he'd bothered to spend 5 minutes enquiring.
I am rather intrigued as to ShyTorque's assertion that it's a safety implication - do tell old chap....
you could propose that the airport issues ONE permanent parking permit per hire aircraft, to be given to the hirer when he signs for the aircraft and bills his rental until the permit and the aircraft are returned intact. Sorted.
Rans6....
Rans6....
Quote:
and found the atmosphere so unenjoyable
Can you elaborate?
and found the atmosphere so unenjoyable
Can you elaborate?
The contrast with any G/A field in France or Italy or even Germany couldn't have been greater. Possible exception for bizjet oriented fields close to main cities like Frankfurt or Paris, I never visited any of these.
The closest I remember is Sabadell, but that is quite in a different class of airfield. And even if I was chased off there too, after sundown, it was by a uniformed gentleman who was polite and helpful and much educated, he actually could and did speak two foreign languages. None of these could be said for the brutish chap pushing me out of Shoreham.
Again, my memories are old and vague, but it could be that you are mentioning a few places limited to short-term parking? Perhaps they weren't implemented at the time of my visit, or I may never have seen them.
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I am rather intrigued as to ShyTorque's assertion that it's a safety implication - do tell old chap....
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Only vaguely, it has been several years, and memory was never my strong point. Still I do recall how weird it felt to have to pay for parking at a G/A aerodrome. 't Was on a nice sunday afternoon somewhere this time of year, and there were a fair number of people, mostly seniors, enjoying the fresh air and the sights of plane traffic. Even then I had a feeling spectators were only tolerated, probably grudgingly, and sure enough after sundown I was chased off the premises, none too gently either.
The contrast with any G/A field in France or Italy or even Germany couldn't have been greater. Possible exception for bizjet oriented fields close to main cities like Frankfurt or Paris, I never visited any of these.
The closest I remember is Sabadell, but that is quite in a different class of airfield. And even if I was chased off there too, after sundown, it was by a uniformed gentleman who was polite and helpful and much educated, he actually could and did speak two foreign languages. None of these could be said for the brutish chap pushing me out of Shoreham.
The contrast with any G/A field in France or Italy or even Germany couldn't have been greater. Possible exception for bizjet oriented fields close to main cities like Frankfurt or Paris, I never visited any of these.
The closest I remember is Sabadell, but that is quite in a different class of airfield. And even if I was chased off there too, after sundown, it was by a uniformed gentleman who was polite and helpful and much educated, he actually could and did speak two foreign languages. None of these could be said for the brutish chap pushing me out of Shoreham.
AFAIK all of Shoreham airport, except obviously airside, is a publicly accessible road.
Maybe the bit in front of the restaurant closes when the restaurant closes.
Still I do recall how weird it felt to have to pay for parking at a G/A aerodrome.
The average Brit doesn't want to subsidise somebody else, and then is suprised that somebody else doesn't want to subsidise him.
To be fair to Shoreham, they had to do "something" to control the parking situation which had over recent years become totally unworkable. They could have more parking space but where to put that?
What could be done to help renters? Some sort of parking permit perhaps.