Caravan sales take off as visitors sleep on the drive

With families squeezing into smaller homes, some relatives are bringing the spare room with them

THEY may conjure up images of rainy British summers, tedious Scrabble games and cramped bathrooms, but sales of caravans and motor homes have boomed over the past 12 months, figures show.

Although Britain’s “staycation” trend is a factor behind the increase, it has emerged that another, even less glamorous, phenomenon is behind the rise; the housing crisis.

With house prices close to an alltime high, families are squeezing into ever smaller homes, and the number able to comfortably host visiting relatives has dwindled.

According to the National Caravan Council (NCC), which represents the caravan industry, motor homes are proving a convenient solution to Britain’s spare-room shortage.

Production of touring caravans was up 13.7 per cent in the first six months of 2017, compared with the same period last year.

At the same time, motor home registrations rose by 11.3 per cent and nearly 12 million caravan and camper-van trips were made.

According to the NCC, a major driver behind the rise in domestic trips was more people visiting relatives in caravans and camper vans, giving them accommodation at their destination.

A spokeswoman at the Council said: “People visiting relatives in camper vans is a growing phenomenon as these days not everybody has a spare room. Generally it is a very straightforward thing to do. However, there are some rules. If you park on a drive, that’s fine, as long as there is no covenant in place which forbids it.

“If you are parked on the road this is fine as long as you are in a camper van, as most of them are no bigger than a large car. Caravans are not allowed. Generally it is better to stay in a caravan park or in a pub car park which allows caravans and camper vans. This is because you can easily connect to gas and dispose of waste.”

Dan Wilson Craw, a housing campaigner, said: “Young people with relatives in different parts of the country will find camper vans are certainly one way to accommodate people.

“First-time buyers and renters alike are living in smaller and smaller properties. It’s not just people at the lower end of the income spectrum – it’s middle-class people too. It’s often most important for people to live near their workplace, and having a spare room is often low down the list of priorities.”

There are around 550,000 touring caravans in the UK and about 205,000 motor homes, the data shows.

Separate Visit England figures show Brits are increasingly using caravans, motor homes and camping as accommodation for trips around the UK with a total of 11.94 million taken last year, an annual increase of 2.5 per cent.