Dear Centre Chairmen and Secretaries

Further to my email about AGMs, the situation is equally fluid about rallying but I will try and give you a steer.

The Club is eagerly anticipating any announcement from the Government about when it will be possible to re-open the sites network, and preparing in the hope that it will be possible from the third phase starting from 4 July at the earliest (subject to the Government view that relevant conditions have been met).  It is very difficult to plan in the absence of a defined date.  The other difficulty in offering clear advice to you at the moment is the different roadmaps being applied by the UK Government, and the devolved Governments in Wales and Scotland.  This means that the advice might need to be adjusted depending on the location of the rally.

Prior to lockdown, the advice to Centres was that rallies could still take place as long as there was no associated social aspect/social gathering.  The spacing between outfits was equivalent to the spacing on our sites and was in excess of the social distancing requirements.  Therefore if sites could be open, a rally could also take place.  The same advice should apply once we are given the go ahead that the sites network can re-open.

However, the onus will be on the individual Centre to take the decision as to whether it is appropriate for a rally to proceed based on their knowledge of the venue, history, landowner, ability to meet spacing standards and whether the rally is viable without social aspects, in order to make sure that covid-secure protocols issues by the Government are complied with and that it can be demonstrated that the rally is a safe environment for members.  It is unknown whether there will be increased or reduced demand for attending rallies given our members' personal feelings about the relaxation of lockdown measures.   Particular thought should be given to whether it is possible to hold celebration rallies which may have been organised between now and the end of the year, especially if there are financial commitments with the venue.  

I hope to be able to provid some clearer guidance once we get clarity from the Government(s), hopefully in the next few weeks.  If you have any questions, please get in touch.

Take care, Emma

Emma McQuillan

Head of Governance

Caravan and Motorhome Club