The new owner of a holiday park in Pavenham has ordered the removal of all privately-owned static caravans, leaving the current residents in limbo ahead of a deadline at the end of October.
The Bedford Independent has seen a letter to all of the current residents at Riverside Holiday Park informing them that their current licence will not be renewed and “arrangements need to be made for the removal of all static caravans”.
The 6.86 acre site has a licence allowing up to 55 holiday caravans and was sold to Michael Simmons of M&J Sales Limited via real estate company, Savills in March.
No fee was made public, although Savills were advertising the park for “offers over £2million”.
Renovations have been taking place at the holiday park, with residents already moved to a different plot to accommodate the work, but they have now been told to leave the site completely.
The letter from Mr Simmons to all residents, dated 14th August 2024, states the licence is not to be renewed.
“After careful consideration, we regret to inform you that we will not be renewing any of the existing Licence Agreements for the upcoming season.
“Consequently, arrangements need to be made for the removal of all static caravans by the end of the current term.
“We understand that this may come as an inconvenience, and we sincerely apologise for any disruption this may cause.”
“Shock and sadness”
However, a caravan owner at Riverside Holiday Park, who does not wish to be named, says the decision has caused “shock and sadness” amongst residents, a lot of whom are elderly.
“The general consensus among residents is shock and sadness.
“Many people have owned caravans on the park for many years and it seems shocking to me that such a decision can be made affecting the lives of those who stay here for many months of the year.”
They also claim that some caravan owners on the site have “only recently purchased [their caravan] and will lose a lot of money that they invested”.
“Vast majority of people living here residentially”
Responding to a request from Bedford Independent, Mr Simmons outlined that his company, M&J Sales Limited inherited, “a park in a very poor and dilapidated state” with “all of the current pitches in poor order and not complying with model standards”.
“Our plan is to bring the Park to a modern five-star standard and to model standards as per our Caravan site licence issued by Bedford Borough Council”, said Mr Simmons.
“All of the agreements at Riverside Holiday Park have always been on an annual renewable basis at the discretion of the Park Operator [and] everybody has been given two and a half months notice in order to relocate their static caravan to another park or to sell it.
“From one of our last visits from Bedford Borough Council, we were made aware that the vast majority of people on the park were living here residentially, which we are not licensed to allow.”
The licence is due to expire on 31st October.
