Jim Allister, who championed the cause of caravan owners who complain of unfair treatment by park owners, has expressed disappointment at the weakness of the recommendations of the departmental review of the Caravans Act.
“The key issue of lack of security of tenure and one year licences, which are heavily weighted in favour of the park owners, requires legislative change through amendment of the Caravans [NI] Act 2011. Thus the suggestion of mere better oversight and guidance by Trading Standards is inadequate. There is no rational analysis of the need for legislative change in the report. It ran away from the issue.
“Frankly, the review panel laboured much and delivered little.
“I do not believe their proposals will substantially improve the lot of caravan owners. Fact sheets from Trading Standards won’t cut it.”
Link to report here.