Crunch meeting to decide fate of Dartmoor caravan homes after ongoing planning dispute

Residents who face losing their caravan homes on Dartmoor because of a breach of planning regulations by their landlord are pleading for all sides to come together and find a solution.

A crunch meeting will be held by Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) on Monday (24 November) to decide whether enforcement action will be taken to remove around 20 park homes at the Devon Oaks caravan site near Horrabridge, which have been in full residential use without the necessary planning consent.

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Members of the close-knit community that has formed over the past five years say they are “angry” and “heartbroken” and not willing to leave the site without a fight.

They say they were sold their park homes next to the River Walkham, some for more than £200,000, on the basis that they could live in them for 11 months of the year, with an expectation this would be extended to 12 months, under a 35-year lease.

One resident, Lynne Watts, said they bought their homes in good faith and simply wanted to live peacefully in what she described as an “amazing community”.

“We are people who have worked all our lives and we have contributed to society and the wider area by paying council tax, the same as everyone else,” she said.

“We have come here to live at what is the end of our lives, in varying degrees, and just want a quiet life and a beautiful place to live it. We have been made to feel incredibly vulnerable for something that is not our fault.

ABOVE: Lynne Watts and her park home (Picture by Alison Stephenson)

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“It really could be sorted out quite simply by Dartmoor National Park Authority granting a change of use on the site from holiday to residential and putting a restriction on the number of homes. We need to all sit down and discuss it.”

Lynne said nine homes on the site already had full residential use, which she said “set a precedent” at Devon Oaks.

“We came here understanding one thing and found out we have something different,” she said. 

“We just want what we bought into, nothing more, and I don’t think that is unreasonable.

“We do far less damage than a transient holiday park, people who come and go and don’t really care about an area and leave their debris behind. We look after it and we love it here.”

Karen Lewis, who moved to Devon Oaks after selling her house in Plymouth to her son so he could get onto the property ladder, said she was very angry about the situation.

“It’s heartbreaking really, because as far as we were concerned, we could stay in our homes for 11 months of the year and were told it was very likely, well, 99.9 per cent, that that would be extended to 12 months. I’m thinking now that maybe we should have done more due diligence.

ABOVE: Karen Lewis in the home she loves at Devon Oaks (Picture by Alison Stephenson)

“It’s been a very stressful time as my husband was diagnosed with cancer and, with this on top, it has put a big strain on both of us.

“I’m upset that Dartmoor National Park didn’t take action after the site was sold and work started on it that was not authorised. Now we may have to be out in six months, but we have nowhere to go.”

Resident Kerry Fice said anything less than residential use on the site would not be workable.

“Where is the finance going to come from if we have permission for holiday use for eight months of the year but have to move out for four months? It is just not possible. 

“And to be quite honest, if they knocked on the door and said, ‘Mr Fice, you need to move,’ they would have to drag me out, I’m not doing it.”

ABOVE: Kerry and Sue Fice, residents of Devon Oaks (Picture by Alison Stephenson)

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The homeowners’ group chairman, Chris Griffiths, said the homes represented residents’ futures and they expected security.

He said they were “an innocent third party” in a dispute between DNPA and the site owner, Barton Park Homes, who he claimed had not engaged with residents or the authority.

“The stress has been so much to bear for people here who are law-abiding citizens. These are our homes, so we have no option but to stay and fight our case,” he said.

“People are struggling with the implications of this. Some are turning a blind eye and pretending it’s not happening; others are not sleeping and suffering with their mental and physical health.

“We understand the owner has had too many properties here and has had total disregard for planning rules. We understand that that sort of thing has to stop, but we think our position here should be taken into account, and we feel that has not been done by the park authority.”

ABOVE: Chairman of the Devon Oaks homeowners' association Chris Griffiths outside his park home (Picture by Alison Stephenson)

Mr Griffiths said the authority had been aware of unauthorised activity at Devon Oaks for some time but had not acted.

He said residents were considering submitting their own planning application, which would include environmental improvements on the site.

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At a recent DNPA planning meeting, members heard that despite a series of appeal decisions and court judgments, the authority had been unable to resolve the issue, with “no prospect” of doing so without taking enforcement action.

Members agreed, “with heavy hearts”, to authorise planning officers to enforce the rules, but a final meeting between members and officers will take place on Monday.

Member Michael Fife-Cook, who said he understood the strength of the caravan community having been born and brought up in one, called the situation “a disaster” that needed to be dealt with “humanity”.

The meeting on Monday will determine whether there is “room for negotiation”.

He said he believed enforcement action was triggered because DNPA was concerned about the future of the site, with parts of it looking like “a bombsite”.

But he added it was “crazy” that during a housing crisis a solution could not be found that allowed residents to remain in their homes.

ABOVE: Devon Oaks park (Picture by Alison Stephenson)

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Residents have also contacted their MP, Rebecca Smith, who said: “I’ve been keeping in touch to hear directly about their concerns and met with the Chair of the Devon Oaks Homeowners Association last week. I understand how worrying this situation must be for people living there, and it’s important that everyone affected feels their concerns are heard.

“Next week, I will be meeting with the chief executive of Dartmoor National Park Authority to discuss the issues raised, and I am also in contact with West Devon Borough Council. I will continue working with all parties to help find a constructive way forward.”

The owners of Barton Park Homes have not yet responded to an invitation to comment.