[2024] UKUT 55 (LC)

Penwortham Park is situated about two miles from the centre of Preston and is currently licensed by South Ribble Borough Council for up to 99 pitches. The Park is approximately triangular in shape, with the entrance to the site being about halfway along one of its three sides. At this entrance there was originally a parking area with space for 10 or 12 vehicles. In the centre of the Park was a large open grassy space, which I will refer to as “the Green”. From the site plan which I was shown it appears that about 20 pitches would have had a view looking directly or obliquely onto the Green, while anyone walking around the Park would have been aware of it. The Green features in Wyldecrest’s description of the Park on its website.

Wyldecrest acquired the Park in December 2018 and at that time there were about 82 pitches on site. Sometime in 2019 it divided the Green into 6 new pitches, laid hardstanding and services and positioned six, large new park homes on the area. A further four new pitches were created in 2020 at one end of the Park. While this work was being undertaken the parking area at the entrance to the site was used for the storage of building materials and spoil. Once the spoil had been removed, a final three additional pitches were created on the parking area, reducing its capacity (as the FTT found) from up to 12 space to 7. All of this work was carried out before an uncontested pitch fee review in January 2021. The FTT found that each pitch on the Park could accommodate at least one vehicle, but that by the date of the review there was poor provision for visitor parking.

Willow Park is located on the fringe of the Deeside village of Mancot in Flintshire. It is a large, protected site with a site licence permitting up to 204 mobile homes. It is also owned by Wyldecrest. At the date of the RPTW’s inspection in June 2023 there were 161 pitches on the Park. As it had originally been configured the Park benefitted from two large parking areas at opposite ends of the site: the “top car park” had space for approximately 40 vehicles while the “bottom car park” had space for more than 60. Additional parking for up to 45 vehicles was available on the Park roads. At some time before 1 January 2023 (the review date) the bottom car park was taken out of use and reconfigured for an additional ten pitches.