Retired and vulnerable holiday homeowners claim they are being priced out of a “breathtaking” waterside campsite in the Lake District after the Camping and Caravanning Club raised one of the main charges by more than 60%.
The row at the static caravan park on the edge of Derwentwater, sometimes called “Queen of the Lakes” because it is cradled by fells, is over the “siting” fee owners pay when ageing vans are replaced.
The breathtaking beauty of the Keswick campsite is now accompanied by a “breathtaking price hike”, according to Terry Hawkins, who has owned a caravan there for 14 years.
At the end of last year the Camping and Caravanning Club (CCC) raised the siting fee by £4,000 to £10,500. The charge is paid when a holiday home is replaced at the end of its permitted 15-year life.
Amid the ongoing cost of living crisis the 62% rise is too much for some owners when added to the cost of a new van which starts at about £70,000.
“It prices people off the site,” Hawkins said. “It’s a family community. People pass on their caravans to family members. It’s a generational thing.
“We had an AGM a couple of weeks ago and you look around the room and it is elderly people, some of whom have partners that are ill or disabled. They’ve been here 30 years. A 62% increase is not fair and reasonable.”
Hawkins said the Derwentwater site, home to about 160 caravans, was already one of the CCC’s most expensive with owners paying an annual site licence fee of £4,650.
“People have left the site and it’s a shame to see them go,” he said. “They just haven’t felt strong enough, they’ve felt vulnerable.”
Richard White, the secretary of the site’s homeowners’ association, said it had polled members and 87% agreed that the new charge was “very unreasonable”.
“You’ve got to bear in mind that when you are renewing your caravan they’ve got you over a barrel to some extent because if you don’t accept the increased fees you have to leave the site,” he said.
“A lot of our residents are old people. You are probably talking about between £70,000 and £100,000 for a new caravan and on top of that £10,500 to put it in place. They are all retired people buying one for their grandchildren to use.”
White added: “Not many people can rustle up £100,000 every 15 years and pay the site rental as well. I think over time there will be more and more empty pitches.”
CCC, which is a non-profit membership organisation, said it had faced substantial price increases from contractors. “The [siting] charge covers the collection, delivery and siting of the unit, as well as the materials and labour costs to refurbish the pitch,” said a spokesperson. “The club makes no profit out of this fee.”
The CCC said the fee is only applicable to a small number of people at any one time and is monitored to ensure only necessary costs are passed on to owners.
“We do have people waiting to buy caravan holiday homes on the site. Therefore ultimately it is a decision for the owner based upon their own financial situation and their desire to stay on the campsite.
“Should the caravan holiday homeowner feel they no longer want to stay on the campsite, they are able to take their current unit and leave with no charge.”
