Abbeywood London Caravan Club

[wanda]

hi all,i rang lez with my reg.,and my 2002 6.5 chevy diesel is ok until 2012,hopefully they will see sense and change their minds by then.by the way,they sent me written comfirmation which i guard with my life, gregg,hope this helps.

[Damon3272]

Hi Gregg I am suprised your RV is compliant until 2012.
Another RVer(in this club) has a 2004 Daybreak with a 6.5 Chev diesel and his is only compliant until Oct 2010,I know its a different RV but still the same engine.
Have you been on LEZ website and put your reg no in to see if it is compliant?

[doug]

Just went on the LEZ site and Whooo Hooo our Gladys (Monaco Knight) is "compliant" until Jan 2012.

[wanda]

hi colin,just checked again on lez site,i am compliant until 2/jan/2012,6.5 chevy diesel,cant understand why others aren't,perhaps mine has slipped through the net for some reason but like i said i have it in writing also, gregg

[philary]

went on the lez web site, does not find us by our reg, but does say 3.5 ton to 12 ton registered after 2006 are presumed ok. does that mean an 08 plate can go to London whatever the engine is ? I am the eternal optimist
phil

[Damon3272]

You would need to make further checks because you can incurr a £200 congestion charge if your vehicle does'nt conform.
As an exercise I went on LEZ website and put a reg no of a 1999 Daybreak with 6.5 chev diesel,this will not conform after 3rd Oct 2010,but as Gregg above states his Damon Challenger with the identical engine and gearbox does conform until 2012 so its hard to see why an identical engine although older with the same emmisions does not conform.
It seems that RVs registered around 2005/6 conform to Jan 2012 whereas RVs registered 2007 and on all conform,but still best to check if your reg does not give you a definite answer.
Petrol and LPG powered vehicles all conform,it only applies to diesel.

[wanda]

hi all,spent the weekend at abbeywood,spoke to the wardens about lez,they reckon the place will be deserted after 2012 as most caravans,if not all are pulled with a diesel and unless your car is almost new you won't comply either,seems the ideal site for the olympics will become a ghost town,what is it with this country and motorhomes? gregg

[PeteH]

Hi

Its not JUST motorhomes, If you have any sort of wheeled vehicle with an internal combustion engine you are regarded as fair game to TAX out of existence

My advice to the Caravan club is to SELL the site(s) for development as Superstores, that will bring Loads of lovely extra traffic to the area and foul up the system, create a planning blight etc (and serve them right!!!). I hope their Games are complete Flop!!

Pete

[olley]

Now now, just cause your smelly old diesels can't go leaves more room for our ecological petrols.

Olley

[Mrtibbs]

The closest you can get to London without entering the LEZ is probably Sewardstone http://www.leevalleypark.org.uk/en/cont ... stone.aspx

I've never stayed there but have been into reception to enquire. I'm also not sure if they can accomodate RVs either (I'm still pulling a Tin Tent - it's a long story!) so please check. It also gets horrendously busy in the holidays and is seasonal.

Don't confuse this site with the similarly named Lee Valley Campsite at Pickets Lock. This one IS DEFINATELY inside the LEZ so be careful not to confuse as it could cost you £200 if you're an oil burner! They are both run by Lee Valley Council. The Pickets Lock site does have large 40ft RVs on it from time to time and they have one or two extra long hardstands too. Plenty of space for 30footers I'd say. It's a good site for London if you have wheels when you get there or there's a bus outside (might be seasonal though) but I wouldn't recommend walking from it as it involves a busy road, lots of industrial traffic and some not so desirable areas if you don't know the place (as with all city sites I'd say). The site is open all year except New Years Day (possibly Christmas Day).

Neither of these sites are picturesque but you wouldn't go to London for views of the hills anyway! But Pickets Lock is fine if you just need a base with decent facilities. Both are well maintained and staff friendly. There are some long-term big Hobby Vans and the like now and the warden said they'd relaxed the rules a little to accomadate contractors on the Olympics build but they seem to put them over the far side. Plus contractors are humans too and I enjoyed a beer and a shared TV outside vans during the World Cup so we're not talking undesireables here. In the nearfield bits there's a good mix of nationalities and rigs.

And for those of you worried about security, well it's a safe as anywhere really. No more no less. Barrier and locked night gate. I've been staying there at least once a month for a while and never had an incident except when a fox ate my rubbish which I'd stupidly left outside!

Finally (before you all nod off) I've never seen a 40footer leave this site and would imagine they have to let you out of the 'in' gate because the turn on the 'out' gate is tight. Other than that access is pretty easy even in large 40fters with a main road and about 1/2 mile from the North circular (the 3 lane section) and the bottom of the M11.