Static caravan advice required

[soupdragon1]

croyde said:

Always wondered about this having to get rid of the van and buying a new one after so few years.

Considering everyone's green agenda, it seems wrong.

Anyone know the reason behind this?

Its a good point and in todays world, it pretty scandalous that perfectly good vans seemingly get scrapped. I guess the question is how many forced 'upgrades' in the UK per annum where you would imagine, quite a lot of customers would prefer to keep their older van, but can't?

Probably in the thousands? Some will go abroad from what I can gather, and some will go to people doing self builds or renovations, where they are used for temporary accommodation.

How much of the van is landfill v recycling?

I think the business model is pretty clear, they make big money from the upgrades. Perhaps better legislation and a review of site fees. From a sustainability point of view, age limits need to go, and maybe replace with some sort of optional refurbishment instead (for those vans that aren't being looked after by their owners making the site look bad) or maybe MOTs every couple of years once they are over a certain age, say 12 years or something.

In NI, we recently had a wholesale review of the industry, split in 3. Residential park homes, holiday homes, and the travelling community. 3 Govt. bodies were involved, department for the economy, department of infrastructure and department of communities.

You can see the results of the review here (its quite a big review, skip to page 60 for the holiday home section)

In summary, the Govt received the points of view from both residents, as well as park owners and in light of the feedback, came up with a list of next steps/recommendations.

In my opinion, they Govt haven't went far enough in terms of protection for residents and from a sustainability point of view, extending the life of a van is not even considered as a serious topic.

https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/fi...

Or if you want a TL;DR....

Topic 2: Termination of the agreement

Caravan owners said:
“They seem to just tell you to leave.”
“If you are found to repeat a conversation with management to a third party you are breaching the conditions of your license and
can be evicted.”
“You are just told your license agreement isn’t being renewed.”
“They do as they please.”
“You should be told in writing exactly why your agreement is being terminated – need to upgrade, no ambiguity, clear, safety
concerns, lack of upkeep, anti-social behaviour etc – so you can challenge if necessary.”
Problems with termination
“4 weeks notice.”
“I can’t sell my van to anyone other than owner.”
“Nothing in our contract on our rights.”


GOVT response:

RECOMMENDATION
No action necessary - The termination of agreement responses did not indicate any material points, for the holiday
caravanning sector.

I mean, WTF!??

Thats just one of 17 topics

The general Govt reponse seems to be 'caveat emptor'

Where the Govt sees issues, they put it on their advice section, a bit like a watchout checklist for owners to satisfy themselves with the different contracts that each site provides. My interpretation of that is that basically, let the industry self regulate itself and as long as comsumers are aware of what they are getting into, then the most popular parks will be the ones with the best contract terms.

I see the logic in self regulation, but if there aren't certain boundaries, the industry can effectively self protect itself as one, ie, with every park having terrible contract terms, instead of the cream rising to the top.

Edited by soupdragon1 on Monday 3rd April 12:05