Caravan owners fear for site's future

By Jenni Dixon

CARAVAN owners fear for the future of their site after being told by a district council to leave the land for the winter.

Waveney District council, who own the Southwold harbour site, has sent letters to the group saying it is reviewing the future of its caravan parks.

The letters cite growing concerns about the standard of facilities and appearance of the site as the reason behind the move.

It also hinted that the council could sell the site to a private company that could afford to bring the site up to modern day standards.

However, the group are worried that any development may spoil the area and that they may not be able to return to the site with their caravans next spring.

Tania Birtwistle, of Wangford, is a third generation caravan owner on the site and is furious with Waveney District Council.

She said: “I think it's absolutely disgusting. People come down here for all the right reasons and respect the area.

“We get to know the local business people and ensure that money is given to local industry.

“We have had no guarantee that after the winter we can come back on the site. “We pay an awful lot of money for a caravan here.

“My daughter learnt to ride her bike down here. It has meant so much to us and I have the most idyllic childhood memories.

“There is a real community here. It's a crying shame if it is lost.”

Mother and daughter Pat and Jessica Ingham have been coming down to Southwold from Cambridge for the last ten years and want the site to stay as it is.

Mrs Ingham said: “I suppose we want the site developing a little bit but we do not want a clubhouse or a shop.

“We just want to carry on as we are - It is lovely the way it is.

“We do not want electricity or anything more, just a clean site with decent facilities.”

Nobody from Waveney District Council was available for comment.