Owner of Caddington park home site fined over £20k after 20 potentially dangerous electrical hazards were found

The owner of a park home site in Caddington has been fined over £20,000 after an investigation by Central Bedfordshire Council.

Mayphil Park Sales Limited, who are based at Cambridge Business Park, appeared at Luton Magistrates’ Court on Friday (October 15). The business pleaded guilty to not complying with a compliance notice to correct electrical faults on the Hillcrest Mobile Home Park site.

Officers from the council’s private sector housing team discovered that the site was operating with faulty electrics after residents reported electrical issues in 2020.

After a full inspection of the site and its services, 20 potentially dangerous electrical hazards were found.

The council served the business with a compliance notice, that required them to carry our work to rectify the hazards. The work was not completed by the required date which left residents on the site at significant risk.

After pleading guilty to the offence under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, Mayphil Park Sales Limited were ordered to pay a total of £22,333.84 including a fine, costs and a victim surcharge.

At court, the magistrates expressed their shock at the details of the case and the safety risk the hazards posed to residents. As a result, they set an unprecedented fine of £1,000 for each of the hazards.

Councillor Eugene Ghent, Executive Member for Housing and Assets, said: “The hazards found by our team placed residents of the site at great risk, and I am pleased that the site owners have been brought to justice. I know that officers from the private sector housing team worked really hard to complete this difficult investigation and to bring the owners to court.

“The safety of residents is paramount and we will continue to take action against site owners who fail to comply with the conditions of their site licence and put the safety of their residents at risk.”

If you are worried about poor conditions within park home sites, email [email protected] or call 0300 300 8767.