Wyldecrest Parks is a

mobile home park A trailer park,caravan park, mobile home park, mobile home community or manufactured home community is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and eas ...

company in the United Kingdom, operating about 101 parks including 10 holiday parks.

History

The company was founded in 1991 with the purchase of Lakeview Park in

Romford, Essex Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...

by its present chairman

Alfie Best Alfred William Best, better known as Alfie Best (born 1970), is a British Romanichal businessman and philanthropist who is the current chairman of Wyldecrest Parks, a mobile home park company. Best's businesses in the UK include 95 residentia ...

. It was originally based in

Rainham, Essex Rainham ( ) is a suburb of East London, England, in the London Borough of Havering. Historically an ancient parish in the county of Essex, Rainham is east of Charing Cross and is surrounded by a residential area, which has grown from the histo ...

but later moved its headquarters to

West Thurrock West Thurrock is an area, former civil parish and traditional Church of England parish in Thurrock, Essex, England, located 17.5 miles (28.1 km) east south-east of Charing Cross, London. In 1931 the parish had a population of 5,153. On 1 Apr ...

, Essex. Wyldecrest Park is a residential mobile home park brand, and Wyldecrest Holiday Park is a sub- brand which focuses on the holiday parks including a golf course. The company operates a charity called the Wyldecrest Charitable Trust. In March 2019, Wyldecrest Parks was shortlisted as a finalist for the RESI 2019 awards, in the category of "Retirement Living Operator of the Year".

Controversies

In October 2011, Wyldecrest Parks owner

, voluntarily accepted a

police caution A police caution is a formal alternative to prosecution in minor cases, administered by the police in England and Wales. It is commonly used to resolve cases where full prosecution is not seen as the most appropriate solution. Accepting a caution ...

for an alleged physical

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

on one of his residents at Scatterdells Park,

Bovingdon Bovingdon is a village in Hertfordshire, England, southwest of Hemel Hempstead, and it is a civil parish within the local authority area of Dacorum. It forms the largest part of the ward of Bovingdon, Flaunden and Chipperfield, which had a po ...

. The resident was protesting alterations to the park. She later pressed charges, with police offering Best either a caution or go to court. In December 2018, Wyldecrest Parks was ordered by

Havering Council The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. The ...

to demolish dwellings which they had built at the Lakeview Park property near Romford after it was revealed that the development was on

greenbelt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...

land and lacked

planning permission Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...

as it was outside of the park's licensed area. Some residents had paid up to £280,000. In February 2021, ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...

'' reported that Wyldecrest Parks had lost a third appeal in a legal battle with a 77 year old resident over inflated site charges for electricity where it was claimed that the company was charging over three times the average daily domestic tariff. In June 2021, Wyldecrest was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay a further £11,000 in legal fees after it was found by Oxford Magistrates Court to have breached two planning enforcement notices. The company had previously been ordered to remove improvements to a

green belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...

site at Bayworth Mobile Home Park, near

Abingdon-on-Thames Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England, on the River Thames. Historic counties of England, Historically the ...

, which only had permission to be used as a car park. In February 2023, Wyldecrest Parks were fined £8,000 plus £25,000 in costs after being found guilty in Bristol Magistrates Court of operating a site without a proper licence. In April 2023, Cornwall Council rejected two applications to transfer site licences to Wyldecrest Parks, on the basis that Wyldecrest Parks had an insufficient interest in the land, that the company could not by itself finance the site and that there was no adequate management structure in place.

References

{{reflist

External links

Wyldecrest ParksWyldecrest Holiday Park
Companies based in Essex Portable buildings and shelters