PARK HOMES - AND THE NONSENSE OF THE ANNUAL PITCH FEE REVIEW

LETTER TO GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL

Dear William,

I have previous made the same recommendation but I am hoping to ensure that it has not been

forgotten..........

It is presumably the long ago lobbying of government by then park owners that has resulted in the absurdity of annual pitch fee reviews. Although I may be wrong, I know of no other housing market, or indeed any other business that is given the right to increase its end user prices by any price index. They follow market forces and the supplier manages its end user prices accordingly.

Of course, there are procedures to challenge proposed increases – but most concede because in an example of 2.5% of a prevailing pitch fee of £150 per month, the arguable amount equates to just 86.5% pence per week, less that the price of bottle of milk. Furthermore, if a challenge is made, even if there is someone on the park willing to prepare and represent, the documentation required can often be more than is need for an Application to the High Court and the costs to the justice system are ridiculously disproportionate. If no-one is able to represent, the costs of legal representation is usually unaffordable and the increases will likely be paid, regardless of merit.

If there is to be a pitch fee review, then it should be three yearly, using the retrospective aggregate of the respective annual index. This would not only relieve the annual burden placed upon all parties, it would remove the anomaly that arises, where one park will be asked to pay more than another, simply because its review date falls at a different time of the year. The collateral benefit would be the slashing of Tribunal costs within the justice system budgets in determining pitch fee reviews, by a not negligible two thirds.

Tony Turner

Park Homes Policy Forum