Action stations! Who do you turn to when your park owner is not adhering to one or more of his obligations to maintain the park; especially those involving the safety of residents? If indeed it relates to a breach in his site license conditions, then it is clear the local authority should be involved. But we come up against the first hurdle; they have the power, but not a duty to enforce. PHRAA pressed the government for a duty, along with the need for stringent checks to ensure all park operators were ‘fit and proper’ persons….but their trade associations were having none of that! Therefore , any scoundrel with a criminal record can become your park owner, in an area where your local authority could be as effective as a chocolate teapot against his activities.
But when, as in this example, the local authorities does, after some initial persuasion, take a mild interest in a potential danger to life and limb, what next? Since this is written from personal experience, and concerned an 80 year old oak tree, after it became clear the park owner was not keen to deal with this and other nearby neglected trees, I decided to have a survey carried out at my own expense. This revealed what we had suspected , but the local authority had ignored for years; that the tree, quote; “ had been unbalanced by storm damage….snapped branches had been allowed to decay, and there is a large amount of dead wood throughout; one large bough with a serious weak point caused by rubbing; at ground level, there is a pocket of serious decay”. Under the heading “ surrounding hazards” it states; “With a mobile home directly underneath, any failure could have serious consequences”. That was in November 1994 . So how long did it take for the local authority to request the park owner to fell this dangerous tree?
From the date I first reported the matter to Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council to the day it was finally brought to the ground FOUR THOUSAND, SIX HUNDRED AND NINETY SIX DANGEROUS DAYS HAD PASSED. Put another way, 154 months, or 112.704 hours…almost 13 years!
One piece of minor work had been carried out, but crucially mid-way through, a former home, just two inches (I measured it) had been replaced. Common sense should have ensured the offending tree should be removed before the new home was placed there. Instead, many years of worry for the new retired couple who, quite rightly, were scared stiff each time the wind blew. They were originally promised it would be dealt with. Sounds familiar?
And the smug response from the current highly (over) paid chief executive? His letter of 30th April 2007 to me includes the ‘classic’ remark; “Far from demonstrating a failure of this Council , I believe the way the case has been dealt with is exemplary”. Try telling that to a court of law when one is on a charge of corporate manslaughter! It is only by the grace of God that nobody was killed here and/or their homes were severely damaged.
PHRAA aims to highlight this case at the next All Party Group meeting. If you have similar examples, with checkable proof, we would like to use them to advance the case for local authorities to be forced into taking a wholly responsibility role, coupled with CRB checks for park owners old and new. The law demands them for Taxi drivers, publicans and the like. As most are against them, they must have something to hide. We want authority to work for us for change! After all, your park owner wants to know a lot about you, before he allows you onto his scrap of land, then throws in a load of ‘do’s and don’ts. A final thought; FOR EVIL TO PROSPER IT ONLY NEEDS GOOD PEOPLE TO REMAIN SILENT! So tell us your experiences in complete confidence.
Compiled for PHRAA by Colin Packman. President. May 2007.
