Civil Service Motoring Association
|
Life's richer together | |
| Company limited by guarantee | |
| Industry | Members club |
| Founded | United Kingdom (1923) |
| Founder | Frank Vernon Edwards |
| Headquarters | U.K., Brighton |
| Products | Discounts, Leisure Retreats, Magazine, Events, Groups |
| Services | Member benefits, offers, discounts, holidays and activities |
| Website | csmaclub.co.uk |
CSMA Club is lifestyle, motoring and leisure club in the UK. The club offers discounts and offers on insurance, travel, shopping, leisure activities, holidays, etc., to its members.[1]
CSMA Club was established in 1923. Its membership of around 300,000 is restricted to past and present members of the UK Civil Service and organisations that were formerly part of the British Civil Service, for instance Royal Mail and BT. Relatives of existing members may also join.
History
CSMA Club is a mutual organisation. It was founded in 1923 by Frank Vernon Edwards, an executive officer in the Ministry of Labour who had an interest in motorcycle trials.
CSMA Club was designed to be a small motorsport organisation of around 300 members, but by 1930 the membership was over 5,000. The membership currently stands at around 300,000.
Services
Originally concentrating on the sporting and leisure activities associated with motoring, CSMA Club has developed into primarily a provider of membership benefits in motoring, lifestyle and leisure areas. Today its member benefits include exclusive discounts on insurance, shopping, holidays, banking, new & used cars, attraction tickets, cinema, travel, leisure and roadside rescue, providing these through relationships with Approved Partners, notably LV= Frizzell Insurance, with which it has worked since 1923.
Discounts include:
• Up to 10% off holidays with Barrhead Travel • Discount on Warner Leisure Hotels • Discounted car, home and travel insurance compared to LV= general public prices • Breakdown cover from just £38.50 with LV= Britannia Rescue • Up to 25% savings on new and used cars with CarSelect • Discounts on airport parking, airport hotels, holiday car hire and more! • Discounts on your grocery shop and everyday purchases • Discount off tastecard membership price
Members of the club also have access to a range of clubs and groups focusing on hobbies and interests from classic cars to photography, as well as a range of events throughout the UK.
Britannia Rescue
CSMA Club formerly owned and operated a vehicle breakdown rescue service for members and the general public, branded Britannia Rescue. In 2007, CSMA sold Britannia Rescue to Liverpool Victoria, the owner of the Frizzell Insurance brand (now known as LV=).
Hotels, Cottages, Leisure Parks
CSMA Club owns and operates a number of Leisure Retreats in the UK. These currently include
- Ghyll Manor Hotel & Restaurant,[2] a Country House Hotel in West Sussex
- Wheel Farm Cottages,[3] self-catering holiday cottages in Devon
- Cotswold Cottages,[4] self-catering cottages in Gloucestershire
- Whitemead Forest Park,[5] a holiday park in Parkend, Forest of Dean.
- Treworgie Barton Cottages,[6]
- Manleigh Park,[7] a holiday park in North Devon
- Parkergate [8] a collection of self-catering cottages in the Lake District.
Although the general public can stay at any of the properties, members and their families and guests receive a considerable discount on tariffs.
Cotswold Motoring Museum
CSMA Club is owner of the Cotswold Motoring Museum in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire.
Magazine
CSMA Club's magazine, called CSMA Club life, was formerly known as Motoring & Leisure, and is the largest circulated motoring magazine in the UK. The magazine used to be distributed to members who paid a subscription. From 2009 the magazine is included in the yearly membership fee and distributed to all members 6 times a year. The magazine covers a range of topics from holidays and leisure to motoring and reviews.