Dream holiday site caravan turns into nightmare for family
PARK AGE LIMIT MEANS GRAN FACES SCRAPPING £12,OOO VAN
A dream holiday caravan at the seaside turned into a nightmare for a Leicestershire family.
Naomi Wilson, from Loughborough, says she faces being thousands of pounds out of pocket after spending her life savings on a caravan at the Fantasy Island Sunnymede site this summer.
The 52-year-old mum-of-three now faces scrapping the £12,000 caravan in just a few years because it will be deemed too old, reports sister paper the Lincolnshire Echo.
Ms Wilson, who has four grandchildren, said she is furious and heartbroken at the thought of scrapping her caravan, after Fantasy Island revealed a new upper age limit on vans at its parks in Ingoldmells in September – two months after she bought her caravan.
The policy will mean a ban on caravans older than 22 years at parks owned by the popular attraction, including Sunnymede and Eastgate caravan parks, from March 1, 2022.
Many owners have said they will have no choice but to scrap them, despite spending thousands of pounds on maintaining them to a high standard.
Ms Wilson said she asked twice about whether an age limit would be imposed at the time she bought her caravan on Sunnymede.
“When I first looked into buying a caravan, I asked if there would be an age restriction and was told no,” she said. “I asked the same on July 10 after lockdown, when I went to sign the paperwork and was given the same answer.
“Now, things have changed and there is a 22-year age limit despite the warranty from the manufacturers being 40-plus years.
“I feel it is very unfair of Fantasy Island. There are three or four new owners there, who are in the same situation as me now.
“I paid £12,000 for it, another £1,000 to kit it out and just recently spent £350 following a break-in. Is there any point in me bothering with it anymore? They can’t just change the rules when we were told something completely different.
“I spent my savings on it and it was a big decision to do that but I wanted something for the family.”
The caravan is a 2007 model so will be at the end of its permitted life span in just nine years.
Ms Wilson added: “I am bringing up my eight-year-old grandson and my 89-year-old dad has vascular dementia and lives with me. This was our holiday home - somewhere we can all go for a rest. Other family use it too for breaks.
“It’s not something I bought for profit, it’s a family van for us all to enjoy.
“Owning my own van is something I’ve always dreamed of. This was something for me, that I’ve done for us all.
“The thought of giving it up in a few years is just heartbreaking. Our dream has turned into a nightmare.
“I can make it look even more beautiful but now there is an age limit, I will just end up spending money on something which will end up at the scrap graveyard.
“There are many older vans on Sunnymede and Eastgate which are stunning. I’d understand if they had to put an age limit if they fell into disrepair, but they aren’t.
“Fantasy Island will end up with empty caravans with no customers to spend money at their attractions.
“I feel Fantasy Island are not showing us any respect and not offering any help.”
A statement previously issued by Fantasy Island said: “Our change in policy has been developed to help improve the overall quality of the parks and the caravans that are on them.
“We have tried to give our licensees as much notice as possible and all current licence holders are free to renew their annual licence agreement for 2021, before the changes come into effect in March 2022.”
The newspaper has tried to contact Fantasy Island about Ms Wilson’s claims and for an updated response.