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Coronavirus

Why are Holiday parks still Open?

(25 Posts)
pinkquartz Sat 21-Mar-20 13:27:58

I live in a small village with 3 huge Holiday Parks and a couple of smaller ones.

Whats bugging me is the motor homes driving around possibly spreading the Virus.

Sadly for me I live just 4 yards from one of the biggest and get breathing difficulties every year due to the Diesel fumes....Now i have serious COPD and Asthma on top of my other underlying health conditions.
my lungs are being weakened by the camp and because I am right by reception. I never knew so many people never turn their engines off. They leave them idling for up to the 20 minutes it takes to register. ( have timed them)

But the vehicles traveling around are going to be spreading the Virus if anyone is infected.

I wish they would be forced to be closed. The pubs and cafes and restaurants are all closed and we have very little medical cover where i live so it will not be good if there is the Virus among holiday makers. Our nearest hospital is 30 miles away. And we no longer have a full-time GP.

I have written this because I am scared and angry. I can't move at this time and hope I don't spend another summer indoors with all windows closed against the fumes.
Under the circumstances I thought maybe people would stay at home this year and why spread the virus into rural areas. Isn't this what happened in Spain and Italy? angry

EllanVannin Sat 21-Mar-20 13:34:34

Sounds like another greedy company who put money before health, but you can bet that they themselves are properly protected. These camps do alright at the best of times so you'd think that they'd call it a day----even if they thought about how the NHS are coping.
People like this make me sick and I bet they're not very nice with it either.

lavenderzen Sat 21-Mar-20 13:39:57

I would be inclined to contact the Local Council on Monday morning pinkquartz on the one hand because they are open and flouting government guidelines ( I would have thought) and from the polution point of view, you should not have to put up with this.

SueDonim Sat 21-Mar-20 13:45:40

Not holiday parks but I’ve seen so many campervans arriving in the Highlands/NE of Scotland, where I live this, last few days. Some have trailers and small cars being towed behind them. I don’t know if they’re planning on wild camping or what but they’ll be using up scarce resources and should they fall ill, they’ll be demanding the services of already over-stretched medical facilities. It is so selfish. angry

Hetty58 Sat 21-Mar-20 14:02:12

I suppose it must be a private road where the vehicles are left idling. On a public road, it would be an offence and could be reported to the council.

'A fixed penalty notice under Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) Regulations 2002 of £20 can be issued by Parking Enforcement Officer (Traffic Warden). This can rise to £40 if it is not paid within the time specified on the penalty notice.'

You should contact your local MP to find out what they could do about it. Perhaps they could talk to the site owner about your concerns?

It looks like the sites are either closing or running a reduced service for now. They may well all close in a few months time:

www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/18318708.coronavirus-caravan-sites-now-affected-covid-19-outbreak/

silverlining48 Sat 21-Mar-20 15:06:01

Cornwall has asked that no one goes there as it will affect health provision if visitors become ill.

pinkquartz Sat 21-Mar-20 15:50:33

EllenVannin

You are correct, the owners are not very nice at all.

The family are hostile to near neighbours on the slightest excuse.

pinkquartz Sat 21-Mar-20 15:54:37

Hetty58
yes it is just about a private road, by 10 years, just inside the gate.
So the council have not been able to get involved.

It is the most enourous site but you can't tell from the road it has such a small entrance hence I ma in the firing line of the fumes at the narrowest point. Even so I was shocked when I looked on Google maps to see how much land he has.

I am considering emailing local MP and local council.
I do see this as irresponsible for him to put money before protecting the village. He has another home 5 miles inland do he and his family can withdraw if they close.

EllanVannin Sat 21-Mar-20 15:55:12

I knew it, pinkquartz. It's rare that I'm wrong about people generally. I swear I should have been a detective.

pinkquartz Sat 21-Mar-20 15:57:00

SueDomin

If lots go wild camping it can impact badly if anyone is ill with anything .
Yes it is very selfish

Peardrop50 Sat 21-Mar-20 16:34:06

I live on an otherwise quiet country lane which becomes busy in spring as it leads to two large privately owned caravan parks with 200 static vans on each and provision for many tourers and tents. For the last two days the traffic, towing caravans, boats and jet skis, has increased hugely. I am extremely concerned as this mass increase in population will be a huge drain on our resources such as goods in our shops and supermarkets. If even some of these people become ill then our local hospital will be overwhelmed. I am not at all happy to see them arrive this year.
On the other hand, if I had young children who can no longer attend school and I owned a static van by the beach and wanted them to be safer then I would most certainly bring them to a quiet seaside location where they could run about in the fresh air.
They do bring welcome revenue to us most years so it would be cruel to begrudge them now.
I shall just keep out of the way and stroll along the beach at dinner time when they all go indoors and I do hope they have a lovely holiday. Be safe every one.

shysal Sat 21-Mar-20 16:45:10

I heard last night that in Italy they have banned walking or jogging outside. The holidaymakers will stop if that happens here. For my sake I hope to be able to keep up my walking.

ninathenana Sat 21-Mar-20 17:11:30

We live in a seaside area. Plenty of posts on local FB pages calling for all the small static caravan/chalet parks in our area to be closed. We're hoping that as the bars, cafes on site are closed it will deter people.
I think a compromise would be owners only, no weekly rental allowed. Personally, I would rather be at home than "daun me van"

All Haven parks are closed as are UK Centre Parcs

SueDonim Sat 21-Mar-20 17:18:46

Exactly, Pinkquartz.

It seems the increase in campervans isn’t in my imagination. GO AWAY, WE DON’T WANT YOU HERE RIGHT NOW! And yes, I’m shouting!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-51990534

sodapop Sat 21-Mar-20 17:20:40

Jogging is also banned here in France unless its within a few metres of your home. Cycling also unless its to go to work or shopping.

Calendargirl Sat 21-Mar-20 18:21:33

It was on the News that places like Bridlington and Skegness are seeing an influx of visitors to the caravan parks. Not good news for anyone living there, especially as it was saying that Birmingham and the West Midlands had increased cases of CV. They head to the East Coast from there.

WOODMOUSE49 Sat 21-Mar-20 19:04:56

I'm dreading and so fearful of what is going to happen to my county (CORNWALL). Local MPs are trying to get UK gov see sense and be clear what is meant by essential travel.

www.cornwall.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/council-news-room/media-releases/news-from-2020/news-from-march-2020/statement-from-visit-cornwall-cornwall-council-cios-lep-and-public-health/

pinkquartz Sun 22-Mar-20 15:53:15

Our local online noticeboard has taken down all my posts on the topic.....claiming not relevant to the community
I am astonished.
The admin team are also part-time firefighters but obviously also good friends with local Holiday Park owners.

I will be writing to MP later on and Council...

GrannyGravy13 Sun 22-Mar-20 16:19:55

Our seafront is rammed and the Sealife Centre is open, their restaurant is doing takeaways added to which there is a pub open with people outside drinking........THESE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR KILLING OTHERS!!!!!!!!!

pinkquartz Tue 24-Mar-20 22:43:26

Holiday Park near me finally closed.
Just hope it is in time to stop the infection. We do not have the medical resources here.

labazsisslowlygoingmad Wed 25-Mar-20 11:54:18

we were booked in a caravan park late april in Borth sadly cancelled as park has shut down for the foreseeable future was really looking forward to it the caravan is superb stayed twice last year we only can have long weekends and just by a beach the dogs can run free on shame

tanith Wed 25-Mar-20 12:22:24

labazsisslowlygoingmad oh what a shame I love Borth my sister used to live at Ynyslas my husband and I visited lots of times the beach and estuary are so peaceful there. My niece still lives nearby. I hope you get to go later in the year.

SueDonim Wed 25-Mar-20 13:16:24

Caravan parks in Scotland are being told to close and anyone who is not a permanent result told to go home.

Floradora9 Wed 25-Mar-20 15:23:38

Neighbour owns holiday homes and they are closed .Stupid people taking their campervans to the north of Scotland . Some vilages putting up signs says no doctor , no food , no petrol . Hope the stupid ones take heed.

Labaik Wed 25-Mar-20 17:52:51

The government must do something to stop people travelling at Easter. The bookings company that I rented a cottage from this Easter have transferred all bookings to next year. Surely any company involved in tourism must do the same. We cannot have people travelling all over the country.