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24th May 2013
Dear Justice Campaign Member. Many of you are asking for information about the new changes in legislation. I have been informed today 24/5/13
Has been written and is currently being printed. An electronic version will be sent to our Justice Campaign and as soon as it is available and it will be immediately displayed on our Justice Campaign Web Site.In addition, an email copy will be sent to all Residents on the Justice Campaign Data Base. Sonia McColl
14th May 2013
Dear Justice Campaign Member. Many of you are asking for information about the new changes in legislation. I have been informed today 24/5/13
THAT THE GOVERNMENT INFORMATION LEAFLET
Has been written and is currently being printed. An electronic version will be sent to our Justice Campaign and as soon as it is available and it will be immediately displayed on our Justice Campaign Web Site.In addition, an email copy will be sent to all Residents on the Justice Campaign Data Base. Sonia McColl
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14th May 2013
Your invitation to the Surrey Park Home roadshow, a not-to-miss event for all park home residents!
This is your last chance to book your FREE place at
this event which is sponsored by Towergate Insurance.
- Hear from Peter Aldous MP.
- Hear from a panel of leading park home
campaigners.
- Have your park home related questions answered.
- Meet and chat with fellow park home residents..
- Find out what the Mobile Homes Bill 2013 means
for you
When – Thursday 30 May 2013 at 3.00pm – 5.00pm
Where – Cobham Village Hall, Lushington Drive , Cobham ,
KT11 2LU
Call today on 0844 892 1417 for more information.
8th May 2013
I have been informed that the programme featuring"SALE BLOCKING"
(which our Park Home Owners JUSTICE Campaign)
has worked forWill be televised on the"DON'T GET DONE - GET DOM"programmeBBC 1 tomorrow morning (9th May) at 11am.Sonia McColl
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4th April 2013
Dear Supporters of the Park Home Owners JUSTICE Campaign
Please accept my very grateful thanks for all the beautiful emails, cards and messages of sympathy that I have received following the loss of
my dear Tony.
He would have been astounded at the beautiful tributes that have been made and I hope and believe that somehow he will be able to know of them.
I am not able to answer the many inquiries that I have received regarding his funeral arrangements – but for those who wish to know.
A service of Love, Remembrance and Thanksgiving for his life will be held at:
The Church of Lady St. Mary
Wareham Dorset
On Thursday 11th April 2013
At 2.15pm
Anyone who wishes to come will be very welcome to join us at the church
and afterwards at
The Silent Woman Inn Coldharbour Wareham Dorset.
With Love and Thanks for your support
Sonia.
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28th March 2013
Dear Justice Campaign Member
26th March 2013, the day our Mobile Homes Bill and in particular (Sale Blocking that we have all fought for) received Royal Assent.
Below is a copy of the letter that I have received from Lord Best:
"I am pleased to report that the House of Lords was informed yesterday that the Queen had given her assent to the Mobile Homes Bill. This came through on Lord Graham's 88th birthday: a fitting tribute and birthday present for Ted! "
In recognition of what Lord Graham has done for park home residents over what I believe is a 30 plus year period, this is indeed a fitting tribute and birthday present. Lord Graham is a wonderful man and in my opinion is fully deserving of this tribute - but I know that Lord Graham will also want me to make sure that the work an support of the "Rock " behind the Park Home Owners JUSTICE Campaign is brought to the attention of all park home residents.
That Rock is my husband Tony McColl. He neither asked for or wanted any form of recognition - save that the Bill to bring about legislation to stop "Sale Blocking" (a course of action that was initiated from our home) should become law.
With his unstinting support he allowed our home to become a Campaign Headquarters. He compiled the Data Base of some 15,000 names so that we could keep you informed. He stuffed 650 envelopes to send our statistics to every MP. He then carried them to London in an old suit case to save on postage. He ensured that security was looked after at the various rallies. He allowed me to creep out of bed at 4am on countless mornings over a four year period to type letters and email campaigners, MP's. Police, Councils etc., etc., He drove us to the Towergate Road Shows. He allowed access to our home by the press and TV and he allowed our home to become an office to answer calls from thousands of park home residents. In fact, Annette Brooke OBE MP referred to him in the Palace of Westminster as the Campaign Widower.
The list of his quiet achievements goes on and on and you are probably wondering why I am telling you this now. Well as I have said previously, Tony was my Rock and our Campaign would not have happened and "Sale Blocking" would not have been stopped on the 26th March 2013 if he had not provided his totally unselfish support and whilst he was never looking for any form of glory or recognition - I know that Tony is owed the thanks and recognition of every park home owner in our country.
In a cruel twist of fate on the 26th March 2013, Tony McColl died on the very day that the Mobile Homes Bill received Royal Assent from her Majesty the Queen.
Although, very close to death, I did whisper that the Bill had been signed by her Majesty the Queen - I can only hope that he was able to hear.
As has always been promised; when details of the do's and don't regarding the Bill are released from an official source, I will publish them on the Campaign Web Site and send to every campaign supporter - and I hope you will understand that for a short time now, I will not be able to answer the volumes of emails that we receive. However, if you have real park home concerns, please contact the Advisory Services IPHAS or NAPHR who will give you information that you can trust.
I have deliberated how to end this and have seen it as a fitting tribute to sign for the last time
Tony and Sonia.
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Dear Campaign Supporter
I have received the explanatory letter laid out below from Mr. Alan Savory MBE of IPHAS (Independant Park Homes Advisory Service) regarding a paragraph in their recently released Advisor that has been causing conflict. To enable the contents to reach as many residents as possible, I am sending it to all residents on the Park Home Owners JUSTICE Campaign Data Base. May I ask if you would please make sure this information gets to all residents on your park who do not have access to a computer.
Best Regards Sonia.
LETTER FROM IPHAS
There have been a number of questions from residents about the paragraph in the Advisor relating to the site licence fee being passed on to residents.
The attached paper is written to provide an explanation for the apparent conflict.
Mobile Homes Act 2013
Some residents have been questioning the apparent conflict in the Mobile Homes Bill currently going through parliament; the items that may be puzzling are:-
The amended implied term 18 (1A) which states that “no regard shall be had, when determining the amount of the new pitch fee, to any costs incurred by the owner since the last review date for the purpose of compliance with the amendments made to this Act by the Mobile Homes Act 2013.” Ref: clause 11(3) of the Bill.
and
The existing implied term 18(1)(c) which states that when determining the amount of the new pitch fee particular regard shall be had to (c) the effect of any enactment which has come into force since the last review date.
The confusion may be caused by the legal terminology. In the amended term it is “costs” which are expressly excluded from the pitch fee review and this means the costs incurred by the park owner in complying with any changes to the site licence conditions. The Act gives the local authority new powers to enforce the site licence conditions and to use the courts if necessary and to reclaim costs from the park owner. If necessary the local authority can issue compliance notices or even enter the park and carry out the necessary works. The local authority can recover the costs of all this from the park owner. It is these “costs” that can NOT be passed on to the residents in the pitch fee.
The fee accompanying a site licence application is not considered as a “cost” in the strict legal terminology for the purposes of this Act. It is just a licence fee. Therefore, because the Bill will give the local authority the power to charge a fee for the site licence, it can be considered at the next pitch fee review under implied term 18(1)(c).
Although the site licence fee will probably be an annual fee, it can only be recovered once on the initial application for a site licence. The sum will become an integral part of the pitch fee which will increase each year with inflation. Therefore the park owner cannot add it on each year because it will already be in the pitch fee.
Note that the Bill also expressly excludes the cost of transferring or altering a site licence to the pitch fee by an amendment to implied term 19. Ref: clause 1(8) of the Bill. The Bill is carefully worded to clarify what costs can NOT be passed onto the residents, namely the costs incurred by failure to comply with the site licence conditions or costs of complying with any changes to the conditions or costs of meeting any other requirements from the local authority. The Bill deliberately does not mention the site licence fee because that is covered by the existing term which states that the effect of any enactment can be considered at the pitch fee review. This is explained in paragraph 13 of the Explanatory Notes to the Bill.
The law allowing the cost of the licence fee to be passed on to residents would seem very unfair. We in IPHAS and NAPHR protested about this repeatedly at meetings of the DCLG when the legislation was being drafted and we objected to the idea at the Select Committee meeting. But on the plus side, the government has pointed out that it now gives residents some leverage to use on the local authority. Whereas previously, when residents asked the local authority for action on the site licence conditions they would use the excuse of lack of resources, in future we can point out that the residents are paying for the licence fee so we are entitled to some return for our money.
The Mobile Homes Bill has passed through all the readings in both Houses and is currently awaiting Royal Assent. The parts relating to the site licence fee will come into force on 1 April 2014.
Ref: IPHAS/RA61M2
Best Regards,
Alan Savory
IPHAS
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ICY WEATHER
Information regarding salt and grit on your park
Park owners are not under any site license obligation to provide salt or grit for roadways, but if anyone suffers injury as a result of their failure to do so, they may well be liable under the Occupiers Liabiliy Act 1957. The law of occupiers’ liability is a common law tort meaning it is actioned in a civil court and deals with issues between individual parties.
Under occupiers liability the person who occupies the land can be held liable when injury or some kind of harm has occurred to another person on that land, meaning that responsibility can fall to the person or persons who are in control of the land, premises, building, warehouse, office etc. In a Park Home environment, this will be the site owner.but when establishing whether someone is in control of the premises various other factors can also be taken into account:. In fact, property rights in the property / premises do not have to exist. An individual, for example the manager, can be held to be an occupier under the control test. Consequently, this means that under the Act, more than one person can be held to be the occupier of certain premises. The term `occupier' under the Act has also been held to cover local authorities, companies, individuals and partnerships.
Section 1 of the Occupiers Liability Act 1957 also defines premises to cover any fixed or movable structure. This can include any vessel, vehicle or even an aircraft. In the cases following the enactment of the legislation such things as chairs, ladders, scaffolding and lifts have been construed to be premises. Obviously such things as buildings and land are clearly included within the definition.
It also applies to visiors The Act extends.to someone who has been invited onto the premises, to include those individuals who enter the premises in the exercise of a right conferred by law. They are termed lawful visitors under the Act.
Common Duty of Care
Section 2 of the Occupiers Liability Act 1957 states that the common duty of care in relation to occupiers is the duty to take such care as in all the circumstances of the case is reasonable to see that the visitor will be reasonably safe in using the premises for the reason which he or she is invited or permitted to be there.
The fact that it is a common law duty of care, means that it is applied to all lawful visitors. however, it should be noted that the duty is to make the visitor safe and not the premises safe and this is a very important distinction, however, the safety of the premises.is covered by the site license and the implied Terms in everyones Agreements.
If your site owner or manager has not provided salt ot grit and you think there may be a risk of injury, you may wish to draw the above to their attention.
I thank Tony Turner of the JBS Residents Association for the above, important information.
MANY MANY CONGRATULATIONS TO ANNETTE BROOKE MP OBE.
From all supporters of the Park Home Owners JUSTICE Campaign.
Mid Dorset and North Poole MP Annette Brooke has received an OBE for public and political service in the New Year's Honours List. She said: “I am very, very honoured and flattered".
Mrs Brooke has been an MP for 11 years and won a Best Female MP award in 2010. She began her political career in 1986 when she was elected on to Poole Borough Council and remained a borough councillor until 2003.
Annette is and has been, a highly active supporter of our Park Home Owners Justice Campaign since it began and this award is so well deserved for all the hard work that Annette has done for Park Home Owners and other worthy causes.
THE MOBILE HOMES BILL GOES TO THE LORDS
Friday 30th November 2012
Another momentous day for all supporters of:-
The Park Home Owners JUSTICE Campaign.
Today saw the safe passage of the Bill from the House of Commons to the House of Lords and as said in the email that my constituency MP Annette Brooke sent immediately after the result: "The Bill is now on its way to the Lords. The amendment was accepted at the last minute, and all being well it will all be implemented next year!"
She also said: "she was there in the chamber but didn't dare speak as she didn't want to take up any time in case time ran out for the Bill and it was her fault!!! "
To keep you all informed.
That statement from Annette echo' ed the stressful 48 hours that both Annette, Peter Aldous MP and myself endured before the Bill had it 3rd reading. For as the last minute amendment was introduced, I was asked to write quickly to the MP's involved with the amendment to the Bill. Once the letter was written and ok' d by Annette Brooke MP, the email letters were sent - but as the Bill was lying fifth in the list, there was still every possibility that it would fail at the last minute.
On Thursday evening, Peter Aldous MP emailed to say that he had signed the amendment and fingers were crossed - but it was still fifth on the list the following morning and it was crucial that it did not run out of parliamentary time before it was heard. Then on Friday morning between 6 and 7am emails were flowing between Annette and myself as the possibility of the failure of the Bill still weighed heavily.
However, at something past two, the Mobile Homes Bill began and it was clear that every MP was racing through the necessary procedure to
give the Bill a safe passage before closure at 2.30pm. In fact, Peter Aldous MP emailed the Campaign directly after the Bill was successful and said - amongst other things - "It was a bit hairy at the end, but we got there." Peter Bone MP - who put forward the amendment - also sent a very nice email after the Bill was passed and a PA at Westminster said: "Great news, I’m so chuffed as I was worried they wouldn't get to it!:" Best wishes to all supporters of our Justice Campaign were also sent by many residents including Alan Savory MBE of IPHAS.
As always, grateful thanks are extended to Lord Graham of Edmonton, all the MP's (especially Annette Brooke and Peter Aldous) IPHAS, NAPHR, the Park Homes Magazine, Towergate Insurance, my husband and rock,Tony McColl, Sonja Lee, the gentleman who prefers to remain anonymous but does our Campaign Web Site, the two ladies who also prefer to be anonymous but clean up and handle the facebook page, the JBS Residents Alliance, many Residents Associations whose anonimity I will respect and all others who have helped our campaign in a practical way.
But today, the main thanks must go to 10.000 park home residents from every county in our country who signed the initial "Petition to the Government." They were the beginning of the Park Home Owners JUSTICE Campaign and without their support over three long years, there would have been no Mobile Homes Bill to even get into the House of Lords today. So a big thank you to each and every one of you for supporting our Campaign. When we all met in
This is your day, we are more than half way there and each and every member of our Park Home Owners JUSTICE Campaign can feel proud of what they have achieved together - and I know that next year, in the not too distant future, we will all be raising a glass of something nice when the Bill gets Royal Ascent and improves the lives of all residents, now and in the future. Best Wishes and thank you all for your wonderful support of our Justice Campaign. Sonia
PS On behalf of our Justice Campaign, I have sent thank you emails to Peter Aldous MP, Annette Brooke MP, Steve Brine MP, Natascha Engel MP and I will write to Lord Graham of
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THE WORDING ON OUR PETITION IS
FURTHER LEGISLATIVE PROTECTION FOR PARK HOME OWNERS FROM SEVERE HARASSMENT BY SITE OWNERS WHERE THE POLICE TOO OFTEN DO NOT TAKE AN INTEREST.
Responsible department: Department for Communities and Local Government
We require the Government to make an amendment to the Mobile Homes Act 1983 to stop "SALE BLOCKING" by the park owner - or - to completely remove the "APPROVAL OF THE BUYER" in the selling process from the park owner.
We require the Government to introduce a "FIT AND PROPER PERSON TEST" for all park owners and their managers.
We require the Government to order a further review of the "10% COMMISSION CHARGE" payable to the park owner on the sale of a park home.
We require the Government to introduce a "FIT AND PROPER PERSON TEST" for all park owners and their managers.
We require the Government to order a further review of the "10% COMMISSION CHARGE" payable to the park owner on the sale of a park home.
