There was a party atmosphere at Court Mount Park as residents and staff celebrated the Kent-based site's first ever Park of the Year award.

More than 50 people attended the party and presentation ceremony, where park owner Russell Saunders received the trophy from Paul Baker, of competition sponsors Towergate Bakers. As part of the prize, Russell will also get £500 to spend on residents of the Birchington-on-Sea site.

 Residents John and Mary Little, who sent in the most eye-catching nomination about their park, also scooped £500 which they intend to spend celebrating John's upcoming 80th birthday.

 After the presentation a delighted Russell said, ‘It is fantastic to receive such a prestigious accolade. I would like to thank all the residents and staff for making this park such a special place to be. Ever since my father Colin bought the park back in 1973, Court Mount has been really important to us as a family.

 ‘We're all over the moon.'

Now in its 13th year, Park Home & Holiday Caravan's Park of the Year competition is recognised as the nation's most prestigious residential park competition.

 Don't miss the full review of Court Mount's win in the October issue of PH&HC, published on September 17th.

Britannia Parks is running a series of open days giving you the chance to explore and see the homes on offer.

Britannia Parks is running a series of open days giving you the chance to explore and see the homes on offer. Days run from 10am - 4pm with no appointment necessary. There will also be a range of offers available including discounts, cash back and loans to bag you your dream home.

August open weekends:
31 July - 1 August - Rymer Point park, Norfolk
31 July - 1 August - Kings park village, Canvey Island
7 August - Poplars park, Bognor Regis
14 - 15 August - Waterbeach park, Cambridgeshire
20 - 21 August - Avonsmere park, Bristol
21 - 22 August - Thornlea park, Littlehampton
21 - 22 August - Folly Park, Bedfordshire
21 - 22 August - Peppercorn park, Bedfordshire
21 - 22 August Kingsmead park, Northamptonshire

Call Britannia Parks on: 01268 511 555 or click here for more info

Prime Minister David Cameron speaks out about rogue park home operators

There have been some harrowing cases about park home owners suffering abuse and intimidation at the hands of corrupt park home site owners. On 7th July MP Annette Brooke asked the PM for his views and if he is willing to meet and 'discuss how park home owners may be better protected?'

The PM responded: 'We all know of cases in which people who want to sell are put under pressure, and the rules prevent them from getting fair value. It is not right. The Minister for Housing, (Grant Shapps), is looking into the issue.' Cameron suggested that she meet with Grant Shapps to discuss 'robust rules so that the rights of park home owners are respected.'


Click here to see the minutes from Prime Ministers Question Time, or you can read more in the September issue of PH&HC (publishes 20th August).

Scottish park releases details of upcoming open weekend

Laird Estates is staging an open weekend at its award-winning Cunninghamhead Estate, near Kilmarnock, on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 July, from 10am-4pm daily. Everyone who attends will have the chance to enter a free prize draw to win a Harvey Nichols hamper. Visitors will have the chance to chat with the site's residents, meet the park owners, view show homes and pick your own plot. Staff will be on hand to answer your questions.The Cunninghamhead Estate is in Middleton Road, Irvine, Kilmarnock KA3 2PE. Leave Irvine on the B769 towards Stewarton and the site's entrance is on the left in approximately 2.5 miles. Call 01294 850553 or 01630 638285 for more information.      

Enter our competition to win a static caravan holiday in a luxury park in Scotland

WIN a static caravan holiday at Queensberry Bay!

Situated right on
the shores of the Solway Firth, Queensberry Bay is a wonderfully
peaceful 4-starpark specialising in luxury and spa minibreaks. The park
adjoins the Caerlaverock Nature Reserve and the views of sea, sunsets
and wildlife are truly outstanding - and the park's location makes it
ideal for exploring the area!

Park Home & Holiday Caravan magazine are giving one lucky
reader the chance to win a week's holiday in a 2-bedroom, non-smoking
Thistle holiday home caravan plus free entry to Historic Scotland
properties in Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders.

For your chance to enter this fantastic static caravan competition click here

The London Retirement Show returns to london with the latest mobile homes and static caravans

Improved and enlarged Retirement Show returns to London, 16-17 July 2010

The ever-popular Retirement Show will return to London, 10am-5pm on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 July, in London Olympia's Grand Hall. Pre-registered visitors can claim a £5 discount on the £10 entry, as well as a free show guide magazine. Pre-registration is via the show's web site, at www.The-Retirement-Show.com. Entry is free after 3pm each day.

Show director Dr Robert McCaffrey summed up the event as follows: "It will be our fourth show in London, and over the years we have learned what our visitors enjoy most: They like to participate, they like to enjoy themselves and they are full of life. Our visitors are a very varied group of people, and that is reflected in the show - there's something here for everyone. If you take my advice, wear comfortable shoes, bring a friend and plan to stay the whole day!"

For those interested in purchasing a mobile home or static caravan there will be several models on display for you to have a look around. There will also be several industry experts on hand to talk you through the ins and outs of owning a mobile home or static caravan 

For more details on the show click here

For more details on buying a residential home click here 

For more details on buying a static caravan click here 

Imprisoned rogue mobile home operator ordered to pay compensation

A man who was jailed last year for terrorising residents of a Worcestershire park has been ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds to his victims.

Seven men were jailed for a campaign of arson and intimidation against residents of The Glen in Blackwell, Bromsgrove on 23 February, 2009. Three mobile homes were burned to the ground as part of a bid to force residents to leave.

Two were burned down in February 2007, shortly before the park was sold, to persuade the owner to reduce the price. The other was burned down in April 2007 as part of a campaign of harassment and intimidation to terrorise residents, many of whom were elderly and vulnerable, into leaving the site.

Brothers John Doherty, aged 31, and Simey Doherty, aged 22, were jailed for two charges of conspiracy to commit arson and one charge each of conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to blackmail. John Doherty was sentenced to 12 years and Simey Doherty to 11 years and three months.

John Doherty was ordered to pay his victims almost £500,000 in compensation by Worcester Crown Court on March 30 after West Mercia Police's Economic Crime Unit applied for a confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act. He has six months to pay or serve a further four years imprisonment in default.

Doherty's assets gained through criminality were estimated at £1.95 million. Once his creditors have been paid back, any money left over will go towards compensation; this amount was calculated as £445,127.47.

West Mercia Police also applied for a serious crime prevention order. Under the order, John and Simey Doherty cannot: visit any caravan or park home site; communicate with anyone on a site directly or indirectly; directly or indirectly own, control, run or have any financial interest in any park home or caravan site.

What do you think on the above story? Do you think this will deter other rogue operators? Let us know your views by adding your comments below or by emailing: kathleen_retourne@ipcmedia.com. Alternatively you can write to PH&HC, 10th Floor Leon House, 233 High Street, Croydon, CR9 1HZ

The 2010 World of Park Home & Leisure Show will showcasing the latest mobile homes, static caravans and holiday lodges.

The 2010 World of Park Home & Leisure Show will showcasing the latest mobile homes, static caravans and holiday lodges. Held from Friday 11th to Sunday 13th June, between 10am and 5pm and entrance and parking is completely free.

Mobile Homes
If you are new to the park home lifestyle then you couldn't pick a better place to start than at this show. Not only will you get a chance to have a look at all the latest models (and maybe even discover your future home in the process), but you will also find plenty of experts on hand to offer you essential advice about making the transition into living in a park home.

Holiday homes
If you are looking for a second home then there is plenty for you too. Have a nose over the latest lodges and static caravans available. With different sizes, types and prices on offer, you will certainly be spoilt for choice.

Park life
There are hundreds of residential and leisure parks dotted throughout the UK. If you would like to find out what type of park is suited to your needs then visit one of the leisure and residential park stands who can offer an insider's insight into what facilities and the new lifestyle and leisure opportunities they have on offer.

Best of the rest
As well as the homes and parks you can find out how to finance, service and insure your home. If you are already a proud park or holiday home owner there are still plenty of stands to keep you interested with fantastic show offers on everything from decking to hot tubs.

Make sure you come and pay a visit to the Park Home & Holiday Caravan team and tell us what you think about the magazine.  See you then!

More on the show at: www.parkhomeandleisure.co.uk.

If you want to know more about mobile homes click here

If you want to know more about holiday homes click here

Editor Alex melvin discusses the latest petition to Government concerning mobile home laws

If the old saying ‘a problem shared is a problem halved' is correct, campaigning park resident Sonia McColl should be doing very well indeed.

Brave Sonia, backed by her park's residents' association, helped launch a petition challenging the Government to stop rogue site owners from blocking home sales. As our report from 10 Downing Street shows, Sonia's campaign garnered the support of more than 8,500 residents. Well done Sonia!
It's now up to the Government to do something meaningful about this important issue. The BBC, to its credit, covered our petition to Whitehall, featuring Sonia's campaign on its Radio 4 programme, ‘You and Yours'.

There's no way that unscrupulous site owners should be allowed to unilaterally block home sales or pressurise home owners to sell to them on the cheap. It's one of the most transparent types of abuse to blight our industry.

With the inconvenience of an older home taken care of, the site owner is then free to site and sell a brand new home for a substantial profit. What should be done now? The Government has talked about introducing a ‘fit and proper person' test for park owners (which would also be applied to existing site owners). I'm sure such a move would be welcomed by the majority of residents. However, with a general election looming, the present administration is fast running out of time if it plans to do something before parliament is dissolved.

The police and, in particular, local authorities, need to be more proactive. If a site owner is breaking the law or behaving in an intimidatory fashion, the police need to aggressively pursue offenders and present a compelling case to the CPS. By the same token, local councils should take control of parks where the site owner cannot be trusted.

Only if this is done will Sonia's problem, which took courage and tenacity to share, get anywhere near being halved.