Residents from many of Cornwall’s 70 residential park homes sites attended the open meeting of the Cornwall Park Homes Forum held at Hayle Rugby Club last week.

Key speakers at the event included Antony Tregenna, from the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE), whose talk included changes to the Mobile Homes Act, pitch fees, buying and selling a home, and tribunals.

Other specialists included representatives from the Independent Park Home Advisory Services (IPHAS), the National Association of Park Home Residents (NAPHR) and Cornwall Council’s Licensing and Trading Standards teams.

Joyce Duffin, the council’s cabinet member for housing and the environment, talked with many of those attending the event and formally reaffirmed the council’s continued recognition and support to residents living in park homes and the role of the forum.

She said: “Park home residents are in a unique situation with different rules and legislation.”

“Often these residents are elderly and some are not aware of their rights.

“The forum is a fantastic way of residents helping each other and making sure everyone is aware of the latest information. It provides one point of contact for any questions people may have. The committee does a fantastic job and it is very encouraging when experts from outside Cornwall are impressed by what Cornwall Council and the forum are doing here.”

The forum, which was set up and supported by the council’s Communities and Devolution team, held its inaugural meeting in 2014. With a committee of volunteers, all of whom live in park homes, the forum is funded by membership fees, contributions from individual Cornwall Councillors' Community Chest grants and by working in partnership with its sponsors Lifesure Insurance and Insulated Homes Limited.

During the meeting, chairman Chris Wightman was presented with a £1,250 cheque to help support the forum’s work and also a hamper as a raffle prize by Dave Ryan, a manager at Lifesure Insurance Group, which is also offering preferential rates to park home residents who sign up and become a forum member.

Insulated Homes Limited, the forum’s other sponsor, also donated a number of prizes for the members raffle.

Mr Wightman said: “We are very grateful for the support provided by our sponsors and Cornwall Councillors as this helps us to continue to put on events such as this and provide support to the many residents living in park homes in Cornwall.

“On the whole residential park home sites are fantastic places to live, with a great sense of community. However, continuing changes to legislation means that some residents are unsure of both their rights and their responsibilities. Members of the forum can provide advice, and guidance on a range of issues, and also signpost residents to most appropriate organisation for further help.”

The annual general meeting of the forum will take place at Fraddon Village Hall on Thursday, June 30. The main speaker will be solicitor Tim Selley who is a specialist in park home matters. Further details will be distributed closer to the event.