As the debacle over the Dale Farm traveller site continues to echo around the airwaves this morning you could be forgiven for asking yourself, why for heavens’ sake am I even considering raising the issue of the potential offered by residential caravans in meeting some of our future housing needs.
“You want to do WHAT!!” I can hear you now, choking on your ciabatta and reaching for the email address of The Times letters page.
Well here’s the thing. A significant proportion of the UK population live in the modern version of residential caravans - ‘Park Homes’ – and very happy they are too. But because of some latent prejudice or simple lack of awareness they are consistently overlooked as a means of helping to address our woefully short supply of new housing. In fact over the last 20 years or so the Town Planning system has contrived to ‘plan-out’ residential caravans from the housing market.
I should know. I’ve been advising the Caravan Industry for over 30 years to an extent that some now refer to me as ‘Mr Caravan’ and I have witnessed the relentless demise of permissions for residential caravan parks throughout that period.
“Jolly good show too” you might harrumph. “Don’t need those SORT of people in our community”. “Why can’t they live in a proper house like the rest of us”. Thanks for that. I’ll let my parents know.
There are nearly ¼ million people living in some 100,000 Park Homes on approximately 2,000 licensed Park Home Estates in Britain today; and these numbers exclude the more particular needs of the traveller and gypsy community.
Who are these ‘caravan’ people then? And what do they want with our planet?
Government research shows that about a third of households living in Park Homes are made up of a couple, one or both of whom are aged 60 or over; a further quarter are single people of 60 or over. There are a small number of young singles and families, but in the main the market is targeted at the semi and retired over 55’s and the Park Home industry has evolved to satisfy their requirements.
A key driver is the opportunity to acquire a high quality home at lower relative cost than bricks and mortar, thereby releasing equity to top up a pension perhaps, whilst also benefitting from a more secure and community focused living environment. That’s what my Mum and Dad did. Having lived in London and Bristol they moved back to the family roots in Cornwall and bought a Park Home on a delightful site in a wooded valley close to Falmouth and spent 14 blissful years there, making friends, taking part in the local community and successfully eking out Dad’s pension.
Yes, they had double glazing and central heating, running water and a flush loo. No, they didn’t need to convert the settee every night into a bed and could cook quite happily on a real gas cooker. Mum pottered in the manageable garden and Dad tooled leather and turned wooden bowls on a lathe in his shed. They were happier there than I think I’ve seen them anywhere.
So what’s the problem? Let these ‘weirdo’s’ do their thing. They’re harmless enough.
The trouble is achieving planning permissions. The Park Home sector is not encouraged, and in some areas positively (and wholly unjustifiably) discouraged by Authorities to the extent that nationally the number of new planning consents has dried up to less than the dribble from a Bactrian camel on a hot day.
At a time when Grant Shapps MP (Minister for Housing and Local Government) rightly waxes lyrical about the role of self-builders and even houseboats as a means of addressing housing need, support for the long-established and arguably more straightforward proposition of creating more Park Home Estates is noticeable by its absence.
Yes. I know there have been issues about poor park management in some areas. But the same is true across the whole housing sector and we don’t see house-builders denied consents en-masse because one or two bad boys built some dodgy houses once upon a time. You might as well shut down all tenanted property on that basis too as a result of the excesses of Mr Peter Rachman. The problem for Park Homes is more cultural than that.
I have prepared a short statement (see link below) setting out the key issues and demonstrating why Park Homes should be supported and encouraged. In that document I have also drafted the beginnings of a Supplementary Planning Guidance document that might be helpful in LDF and other policy debates. Perhaps, given demographic trends, some recognition of Park Homes’ particular market role will help in meeting needs that are increasingly going unmet by the mainstream house-builders.
Next Thursday (9th Feb) sees the Annual convention of the British Holiday and Home Park Association (BHHPA) at The QE2 Centre in London, hence the reason for my bringing this matter up now. Here is an ideal opportunity for Government to reaffirm their commitment to Park Home living as a reasonable and appropriate element of the housing market and give some much needed guidance to Authorities throughout the land that caravans should not be treated as sub-standard or an unsustainable forms of living. They have just as much right to be a part of a diverse housing market as houseboats or anything else for that matter and permissions should not be denied on (faux) policy grounds essentially founded in issues of ‘perception’, ‘appearance’ or sheer bloody minded prejudice.
Enjoy your lunch!
The Statement can be accessed here:
Excellent reading Ian although one phrase that terrifies all owners of mobile caravans is "road tax"!
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