Caravan row erupts as cancer survivor ‘held to ransom’ over rising rent costs

Howie doesn’t understand why the park won’t let him pack his things and leave

A Hull cancer survivor has been left “mad, frustrated and upset” after he was forced to put his beloved caravan up for sale following rising rent costs at a caravan park.

Howie Grant, 51, said he had been “held to ransom” and was being forced to list his caravan for sale when he was unable to afford ground rent at the park following a year of financial hardship.

The father-of-one, who has been shielding and forced to stay off work, said the caravan had initially provided “peace and escape for me and my son Bailey to do what we wanted to do”.

And he claimed the difficult decision to sell up had been made even more stressful after owners at the Burton Constable Holiday Park allegedly refused to allow him on site to prep his caravan for sale.

I’ve been trying to get on [the site] to get my things off and they won’t let me on the park,” Howie, who is currently staying with a friend in Sutton, claimed. 

“They say it’s because of the Covid rules and everything else.

“Contractors are allowed on the park but people who own static caravans aren’t, but I want my things. I am already stressed enough with being on furlough and having to shield.

“I have got a contractor on to do some work in the caravan so I can get it right for sale and remove the porch and decking, but while he was at the park the owners asked him to look at some jobs for them.

“I asked them to refrain from asking the contractor to look at anything in my time, which I am paying him for, and that if they wish to get quotes then they should do so in their own time. 

“They stopped him taking the decking and porch down the next day.

“If he was allowed then the work would have been finished, my caravan would have been sold and there wouldn’t be any issues.

“They have dragged it out so that I go into next year’s ground rent and they’re now holding me to ransom over pitch fees, towards which I paid £3100 and only got a month’s use.

“They won’t show the good grace just to let me move off without any of the other financial worries I have – I am already on sick with anxiety and it’s not helping.”

Howie, who was the proud owner of the van for around three years, said he was “gutted” about losing his pride and joy caravan, which he and his son holidayed in as much as they could.

He said other renters at the park have faced similar issues, with his caravan neighbour allegedly attempting to leave the park in between lockdowns last year.

He alleged: “He tried to leave because his wife was diagnosed with cancer. 

“They made it very awkward for him to leave so I helped him remove his decking. He needed to be at home with his wife.”

Speaking of his own situation, Howie said: “It’s not helped with my anxiety, which I am off work with as well as having to shield, it’s adding additional stress to my mental health.

“I’m on anti-depressants as well as other heart medication after a heart attack in 2017. I’ve fought back from cancer twice, a stroke and I have face paralysis. 

“I have the all-clear now but it never goes out of your mind. 

“Now I have to fight to get my personal belongings back and sell my caravan.”

A spokesperson for Burton Constable Holiday Park said: “We wouldn’t comment on individual cases because that would betray the trust we have between all our customers and ourselves.

“The discussions have gone way beyond this stage and we are working extremely hard with our customer to help them with this difficulty because we really empathise with their circumstances..

“We have gone above and beyond to try to help them and we really hope we have come to an arrangement whereby their worries are reduced.”

Source: Hulllive ByKirstin Tait

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