Homeless and could soon be siteless!!!

[Fraggle 22]

We had a similar problem in first lock down.
Old house sold, next house bought but had been completely gutted (no bathroom, kitchen, electric, gas, water internal walls etc etc) when lockdown occurred i.e, not fit for habitation. We were living on a nice site a couple of miles away whilst work done.
At lockdown we were (amongst others) given 2 hrs to leave site (23rd March if I recall correctly). Within that two hours we very fortunately had someone we didn't know take pity on us and we were able to take advantage of alternative accommodation until end of lockdown... very kind lady! We hadn't seen the bit about 'staying put' until it was too late.
We had only been in our temporary accommodation a few days when we had police knocking on the door wanting to know we were on holiday during lockdown. Aggravation both us and the kind lady could do without as we had obviously been reported by neighbours.
After a conversation with the police they went away and credit to them never returned when they knew what the situation was.
Not a pleasant situation but got through everything in the end

Highly unlikely to happen here. We are up a driveway hidden behind electric gates

 

[Puddleduck]

We had only been in our temporary accommodation a few days when we had police knocking on the door wanting to know we were on holiday during lockdown. Aggravation both us and the kind lady could do without as we had obviously been reported by neighbours.
After a conversation with the police they went away and credit to them never returned when they knew what the situation was.
Not a pleasant situation but got through everything in the end

That is why we have made sure people locally know why our friend is on our drive and that we are a support bubble. Very unlikely to have the authorities come knocking out here but one set of our neighbours are very unpleasant and appear to take delight in making problems for others.

 

[TeamBandS]

Fraggle 22 and everyone who has offered help and suggestions.

A huge thank you and to me, you represent everything that is great about this site. With the lockdown now delayed until Thursday someone I know in Shrewsbury is making room on his drive for the 2 nights accom I will now need. (Cars moved to friends drives etc... )

Again thank you all and all I need now is for the removal company to be allowed to bring all our processions from storage - it was allowed under the last lock-down so hear is hoping. Otherwise 4 weeks sleeping in the MH on the drive which will be fine as we will have the house toilets, showers etc, we would probably use the MH outside chairs and tables inside as well.

Fraggle, would have sent personal PM but need to remember how to do it!!!

 

[Fraggle 22]

That is why we have made sure people locally know why our friend is on our drive and that we are a support bubble. Very unlikely to have the authorities come knocking out here but one set of our neighbours are very unpleasant and appear to take delight in making problems for others.

So unnecessary to be like that but you know you get back what you give out in one way or another. Probably the country wouldn't be in the mess it is if people thought of one another and helped where they could.

 

[Fraggle 22]

Fraggle 22 and everyone who has offered help and suggestions.

A huge thank you and to me, you represent everything that is great about this site. With the lockdown now delayed until Thursday someone I know in Shrewsbury is making room on his drive for the 2 nights accom I will now need. (Cars moved to friends drives etc... )

Again thank you all and all I need now is for the removal company to be allowed to bring all our processions from storage - it was allowed under the last lock-down so hear is hoping. Otherwise 4 weeks sleeping in the MH on the drive which will be fine as we will have the house toilets, showers etc, we would probably use the MH outside chairs and tables inside as well.

Fraggle, would have sent personal PM but need to remember how to do it!!!

No problem, glad you are sorted out. If we can help in anyway please let us know. And that goes for anyone else that may find themselves in a similar situation.

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[Fraggle 22]

We're in the same boat but will need to find somewhere to stop for up to 2 months whilst our house purchase goes through. Not sure what we'll do but it's a worry. Hoping a UK site will take pity on us and let us self-contain throughout any lockdown. May have to go back through the tunnel to Germany if still allowed but not fully worked it through yet.

I don't know if you saw our earlier posts, maybe too far from where you want to be but the offer stands

 

[Jonny1953]

Again thank you all and all I need now is for the removal company to be allowed to bring all our processions from storage - it was allowed under the last lock-down so hear is hoping. Otherwise 4 weeks sleeping in the MH on the drive which will be fine as we will have the house toilets, showers etc, we would probably use the MH outside chairs and tables inside as well.

They should still move you, if the rules are work from home if you can, otherwise it is okay to work, so you should be okay.

My house is actually sold from Thursday 5th and I have 2 weeks before I move into my new house in Redcar (Teesside), I have booked 3 weeks at CAMC site in Teesside but not sure what they are doing so will call them tomorrow to find out if they are closing

 

[Potty]

They should still move you, if the rules are work from home if you can, otherwise it is okay to work, so you should be okay.

My house is actually sold from Thursday 5th and I have 2 weeks before I move into my new house in Redcar (Teesside), I have booked 3 weeks at CAMC site in Teesside but not sure what they are doing so will call them tomorrow to find out if they are closing

According to BBC News website, moving house will still be allowed.

 

[Puddleduck]

For all who are doing flits I hope it goes smoothly.

 

[TeamBandS]

For those moving, Gov have stated that house moves can be undertaken during lock-down.

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[Fraggle 22]

For those moving, Gov have stated that house moves can be undertaken during lock-down.

That must be a relief. Hope it goes well and you are happy on your new home
Come and say hi if you see us in Shrewsbury
No one else had 2 bog white poodles.

 

[faraway]

I’m on a CCC site and have been told that if the lockdown is confirmed in Parliament on Wednesday, everyone has to be off the site by midnight on Wednesday!

 

[Tincataylor]

We are due to exchange on our property this week and the plan was to live in the van on the CMC site in Cheddar from the end of November while we house hunt in the area which will probably take several months.
We feel the chances of the lockdown finishing early December is by no means a certainty so we may well find ourselves living in the van but with nowhere to park it.
House moves are stressful enough without having to cope with the uncertainty of of sites being open or closed. Surely it is safer to have vans secure on a site with facilities and EHU than roaming the land, living in roadside parking without facilities to dump waste responsibly.
If government force campsites to close then I guess they have to. But if it is advisory and the CMC have decided to close (just announced) because it suits them for some reason then this would be a disservice to their members.
If you have parking with hook up in the Wells, Glastonbury, Frome, Castle Cary area and would like to come to an arrangement then feel free to PM us,

The Tincas

 

[faraway]

We are due to exchange on our property this week and the plan was to live in the van on the CMC site in Cheddar from the end of November while we house hunt in the area which will probably take several months.
We feel the chances of the lockdown finishing early December is by no means a certainty so we may well find ourselves living in the van but with nowhere to park it.
House moves are stressful enough without having to cope with the uncertainty of of sites being open or closed. Surely it is safer to have vans secure on a site with facilities and EHU than roaming the land, living in roadside parking without facilities to dump waste responsibly.
If government force campsites to close then I guess they have to. But if it is advisory and the CMC have decided to close (just announced) because it suits them for some reason then this would be a disservice to their members.
If you have parking with hook up in the Wells, Glastonbury, Frome, Castle Cary area and would like to come to an arrangement then feel free to PM us,

The Tincas

Ive also been told by the CCC site warden that the Club won't accept people staying, even if the government states that full-timers can stay where they are instead of being made homeless as they cannot use a site as their "home" and should have another address anyway.

 

[Rosemary1]

Ive also been told by the CCC site warden that the Club won't accept people staying, even if the government states that full-timers can stay where they are instead of being made homeless as they cannot use a site as their "home" and should have another address anyway.

Yes - it was a CCC who made us leave during the last lockdown - to be fair the wardens did try to help and broke the HO rules a little for a week until we were able to get a more permanent place.

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[eddie]

It is difficult, as logically we should close completely and mothball the site. That would be the most sensible thing to do and then have no issues what so ever. I could then furlough the wardens and not loose money.

We charge £16.50 a night which is a discount of about £6 a night if someone wants to pay 28 nights in advance, thus guaranteeing them their pitch.

As it is 28 days on a "rolling booking" we would feel that to shut the site and make them homeless would be a horrible thing to do, so have decided to stay open to them and anyone that needs to come back to us because of the lockdown, but even this decision has got us into an argument! We have a family with 3 young Children and a baby and two big dogs, that wanted to book in with us because of the lockdown and we have said "no" because of the Children.

I love kids, but we are a touring site, nothing for Children to do at all, and during a "lockdown" where people are observing strict social distancing, it would be wrong for the family and more importantly for the rest of us that are "locked down"

Sadly because of the World we live in, when this was referred to me to make the decision by the Wardens (who were against them staying as well) when I politely had said "no" listing several reasons why I was asked "What do you expect me to do now?"

I wonder why he thought that his and his wife's lifestyle choices were in anyway my responsibility? which having spent ten minutes explaining nicely, the answer was "no" I decided was sufficient and told him

Another Christmas Card list I'm struck off of then!

 

[maz]

I’m on a CCC site and have been told that if the lockdown is confirmed in Parliament on Wednesday, everyone has to be off the site by midnight on Wednesday!

Getting a sense of deja vu here. Last lockdown the so-called ‘friendly’ C&CC were very unfriendly towards their fulltimers. CMC initially had the same knee-jerk reaction but subsequently mellowed and allowed fulltimers to stay on their sites. There were threads on here about it at the time. As the CMC were singing their own praises in their club magazine about how well they looked after their ‘vulnerable’ members during the last lockdown, I’d expect them to do the same this time. If I was in the UK at the moment I would be on the Ferry Meadows CMC site - and would refuse to leave, like I did at Cirencester Park CMC site during the first lockdown. Good luck to all fulltimers caught up in this mess second time around!

 

[Kannon Fodda]

I suspect, from the perspective of the camping clubs and the licencing they offer to their CLs, CS, and no doubt the non affiliated campsites that have secured licencing direct from local authorities, there is a fundamental issue that campsites are supposed to be temporary occupancy. If not they have become permanent homes, requiring completely different planning consent and licencing. Even holiday parks of static caravans, often have a seasonal use limitation, due to planning rules and licencing. Thus most operate the 28 day rule, and even on sites where they allow seasonal pitching there are requirements that there is no occupancy for 48 hour break periods.

Of course the issues of lockdown was never envisaged, but as alluded to above, the issue of fulltimer occupancy of vans and MH's also wasn't part of the equation for campsite licencing.

 

[Mrsambulancekidd]

I wish we could offer a place to park for full timers, but sadly that isn't possible

 

[Quackers]

Hello all, our CL woodsidefield.co.uk is technically closed at the moment however if a full timer is desperately stuck for somewhere to go please send me a PM.

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[Jim]

Ive also been told by the CCC site warden that the Club won't accept people staying,

I'd just refuse to leave, you own the club.

 

[Rosemary1]

I'd just refuse to leave, you own the club.

Trouble is , depending on the characters they can make your life very uncomfortable. Switching off electricity, and water maybe access to black waste. Locking access gates so you can’t get out to do shopping etc. The one we were on in the last lockdown did this but as they had agreed that we could stay an extra week they would open the gates for us each day for that week.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Copied from a FB Group:

"METAL BRIDGE INN - CARLISLE
We have space here for any full timers that are having difficulty finding somewhere to park up for the lockdown, is this allowed with us being a pub stopover?
We will be closed but takeaways are available

we also have a toilet block, fresh tap water and also waste disposal points

If anyone is interested or knows of anyone please just feel free to send me a message or call us! It’s no problem at all and we would be happy to help"

 

[maz]

Coincidentally this morning I received a phone call from the CMC as my membership has expired (I am now on a shared membership under my partner’s name which doesn’t expire until next April). I took the opportunity to praise them for how they had treated me as a fulltimer during the last lockdown and pushed the case of fulltimers in need of help this time around. I could hear the woman typing away frantically as I was speaking so hopefully my comments have gone on record. Have no idea whether this will help sway policy but one can always hope!

 

[MichaelT]

On an other FB page the Stonehenge Campsite is taking fulltimers


Following the currant government guidance, we will be accepting essential guests only. This means if you need a place to stay as you live in your caravan / Motorhome we can accept you as set out by the housing minister. Also if you need accommodation for work related stays or key workers we can assist. We can not accept staycations at this time, give us a call on 07786 734732 and speak to the team

#StaySafe

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[TeamBandS]

The legal side of campsite "covid eviction" was explained by a site called IBB Law during the last lock down -

From IBB Law site....

• The owner of my holiday park has just told me the park is closing and I must leave – can they do this?

On 23 March 2020 the Government directed that all “non-essential premises” must close with immediate effect. This definition includes “Caravan parks/sites for commercial uses”, which covers holiday and touring caravan parks.

However, even though the Government has directed that holiday and touring caravan parks should close, this does not necessarily mean that all caravan holiday homeowners and/or occupiers who are already staying on those parks must leave. The guidance says: “Where people live permanently in caravan parks or are staying in caravan parks as interim abodes where their primary residence is not available, they may continue to do so”. What this means in practice is, as yet unclear and every situation will be different.

If you are occupying a holiday caravan and believe that you have a genuine reason why you are unable to go back to your main residence, you should notify the park owner in writing at once and explain your situation.

I can see no reason why the advice should be different this time. Not trying to cause trouble for anyone, just thought it might enable you to persuade a site to let you stay and provide them with the justification for anyone from the council or police.

 

[eddie]

The legal side of campsite "covid eviction" was explained by a site called IBB Law during the last lock down -

From IBB Law site....

• The owner of my holiday park has just told me the park is closing and I must leave – can they do this?

On 23 March 2020 the Government directed that all “non-essential premises” must close with immediate effect. This definition includes “Caravan parks/sites for commercial uses”, which covers holiday and touring caravan parks.

However, even though the Government has directed that holiday and touring caravan parks should close, this does not necessarily mean that all caravan holiday homeowners and/or occupiers who are already staying on those parks must leave. The guidance says: “Where people live permanently in caravan parks or are staying in caravan parks as interim abodes where their primary residence is not available, they may continue to do so”. What this means in practice is, as yet unclear and every situation will be different.

If you are occupying a holiday caravan and believe that you have a genuine reason why you are unable to go back to your main residence, you should notify the park owner in writing at once and explain your situation.

I can see no reason why the advice should be different this time. Not trying to cause trouble for anyone, just thought it might enable you to persuade a site to let you stay and provide them with the justification for anyone from the council or police.

Don't forget a lot of small sites just don't want the risk of meeting people so would rather close. I know several sites who didn't bother to re-open after the first lock down and have said they will re-open Spring 2021

 

[Tony50]

I have not read all the comments here, but , since todays Lockdown if you go on Governments website I am sure it says you can go to Estate Agents view properties , buy, move (if you can get a Removal service)

 

[Tony50]

Don't forget a lot of small sites just don't want the risk of meeting people so would rather close. I know several sites who didn't bother to re-open after the first lock down and have said they will re-open Spring 2021

We are on a big site sold our bungalow, been here about 2 months, worrying about getting chucked off but, we have been told as we have no where to go and that applies to others living on site we can under Government rules stay here, but, we did not know until last night about 5.30 pm , we were very worried , if you have moved off you won't officially be allowed on another site , Last time this happened to us we had just sold to 2 Police persons she said we are Priority people and are coming, so I phoned council ,passed pillar to post got to the Person who Licences campsites , he phoned a campsite saying like you you are homeless he said to campsite as a exception I will let you let Mr.& Mrs onto your campsite , we moved on , no council want you homeless as they have a duty to place you somewhere

 

[faraway]

We are on a big site sold our bungalow, been here about 2 months, worrying about getting chucked off but, we have been told as we have no where to go and that applies to others living on site we can under Government rules stay here, but, we did not know until last night about 5.30 pm , we were very worried , if you have moved off you won't officially be allowed on another site , Last time this happened to us we had just sold to 2 Police persons she said we are Priority people and are coming, so I phoned council ,passed pillar to post got to the Person who Licences campsites , he phoned a campsite saying like you you are homeless he said to campsite as a exception I will let you let Mr.& Mrs onto your campsite , we moved on , no council want you homeless as they have a duty to place you somewhere

Was this a privately owned campsite?

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