Camping Club set to pack up for the final time

The club, which was formed in 1977, decided to wind down as not enough members had volunteered to be involved in running and planning its events this year.

‘It’s a pretty labour-intensive job and it takes about five members to organise and run these events,’ said club president Fabienne Bourgaize.

‘It is all voluntary work and we found there were just fewer and fewer names being put forward for the leadership roles. It is an ageing club, a lot of the members are coming up to retirement and not in the position to dedicate their time to running it.’

Mrs Bourgaize has been a member of the club ‘all my life’ and joined the committee as treasurer five years ago. She then stepped into her late father’s role as president a couple of years ago, but is stepping down this year and going on maternity leave from her full-time job. As one of about four committee members resigning this year, the club felt that left a hole that could not be filled.

The camping club needs a minimum of five committee members and there were only four willing to join this year. In a public announcement, the committee said that ‘it is realistically not feasible to run with less than the number required’.

The club still has about 200 members, many of whom have been involved for more than 30 years. It was still very active last summer.

‘We host about 16 events a year including day events, camping events, away rallies – we just did a trip to France, and evening events such as quiz nights and BBQ,’ said Mrs Bourgaize.

The committee added: ‘There were lengthy discussions and multiple ideas on how to simplify or reduce events, but it was not enough to encourage new committee members to join. A vote was carried out where the majority ruled and made the reluctant decision to dissolve the club.’

The club will now sell all their assets, including marquees, camping props and tables, and donate any funds remaining to eight charities it has chosen, after holding them for a required one-year period.

The planning permission needed for campervans and caravans on local sites has already been gained for all the events that were due in 2025. The committee now hopes to secure these permissions so that its members can enjoy some last camps together.

Mrs Bourgaize said that the closure of the club would not stop the current members from getting together and planning trips.

‘Many of the members have swapped numbers and plan to stay in touch. It is, of course, sad to see the club go, but a lot of the friendships it has created will remain and the members will carry on camping.’

The club committee added in a statement: ‘We would like to take this opportunity to thank all members for being a part of this amazing club. It holds a special place in many of our hearts and we can personally say as a committee that it has been an honour to serve you all. A special thanks also goes out to everyone who served on previous committees, it is thanks to them that the club was able to run for as long as it did.’

Mrs Bourgaize said that if enough members were to come forward now to stand for the committee, the club could still be saved.