James BryceEXCLUSIVE By Wendy Williams
A GROUP of British expats is suing the owner of an illegal caravan park in Almeria.
Dave Church, 67, who owns a mobile home on Grand Oasis Park, in Los Gallardos, is one of nearly 30 expats who have filed a denuncia against owner Shaun Wilson.
They insist Wilson is about to make them homeless by applying for a camping licence for the site, that he has run illegally since 2001.
They claim that plans submitted to the local town hall show the park with the removal of all the existing mobile homes.
“Our lawyer has been told that all homes will have to be removed before a licence is issued and this would leave many owners without a home,” Essex-born Church told the Olive Press.
“We are very worried, particularly as we cannot get answers from either the town hall or owner.”
The group is now also threatening to sue the town hall for allowing the park to set up minus a licence in the first place.
“The town hall must take responsibility for this,” continued Church, who previously took legal action against Wilson in 2009 after he illegally disconnected his water, sewerage and electricity supply.
Wilson, who has other parks in Valencia and Alicante, was fined 450 euros and ordered to reconnect them.
The Olive Press was unable to contact Wilson despite numerous calls.
The town hall declined to comment, but confirmed the park did not have a licence.
Why move to a park in the first place that has no license? That is a big risk in itself. Can’t really see why this is the town halls fault.
“The town hall must take responsibility for this,” NO! You must take responsibility for taking the stupid decision to live in an illegal caravan park, knowing full well that it’s illegal.
Gee I thought they were homeless already ……
Why not agree to travel about for the summer, vacating the park so that he can get a license, then return?
Leave ’em alone, it’s not like they’re an eye-sore or anything!
some people havent paid site fees and
what will they do anyway…….in the end……what are outcomes possible ..for peace
So the town hall was right to ignore the setting up of an illegal site? Why didn’t they stop it being set up in the first place? Anyone who know the owner of this site will wish them success if they decide to sue him.
sue him for what exactly
did they know it was ‘illegal’,was the owner a silver tongued shoister,one thing for sure by not sitting down and talking the only winners will be the lawyers.
we (costaalmeria.com) have always said use a reputable lawyer for buying property in spain
wilson always comes out the winner sue him if it shuts they will all be homeless anyway its there fault get a lawyer before you buy anything in spain i worked for him for many years and im sure you will find hes within the law
So Albir, are you saying you helped him scam people,how ca n you say he is within the law if he has been selling places on an illegal site
no im not saying that at all if its so illegal why did the town hall allow it to open in the first place 300 homes and they never noticed wake up folks get together and support him youll have more chance to make the place work
agreed Albir(nice place) they should try to make the most of a bad job,and as you say the site did not spring up overnight
anyone got any news whats happening now
hows things going any news
so how is the 68 year old englishman going on suing the spanish council …. will he be 99 when the next thing happens
ps i thought purchases were made in english law
you buy the van if site closes its your responsibility to move the van re site he only has to repay remainder off site fees for that year end off storey thers no protection for the buyer
quote[so how is the 68 year old englishman going on suing the spanish council …. will he be 99 when the next thing happens]
nice comment JC, why not kick a dog while he is down eh! people have lost a lot of money(ok their own fault)but there is no need top rub it in
is the site closing or not anyone know
I m not kicking anyone this site at grand oasis is a lovely place to stay better than most other sites vastly better than that other one up the rd near the motorway… what I cannot understand is why 30 or so people heve left their mobile homes and rent flats in Turre at extra cost..surely they should stay at grand oasis and keep an eye on their mobile home some have paid 35000 pounds for them…any disputes or arguements should be ironed out….is this mr church a kind of pied piper to persuade people to leave and rent a flat in Turre it makes no sense to me
well said jc
John, you ask “what I cannot understand is why 30 or so people heve left their mobile homes and rent flats in Turre at extra cost” – you have answered your own question! Because people can’t stand your place! And I know a lot of your owners have paid to move their homes to “that other place up the road”!
its not my place I wish it was though..
I believe 3 have gone up the road
why are you paying money for a flat when you can live in your sunny mobile home for less.
If I paid 30000 for a mobile I would sure live in it
I cant stand my local garage , or some local shops, or my mother in law but it doesnt stop me going there if its cheaper
any updates on this fiasco
The town hall have lost all the papers
today 21 march 2013 reesidents saying MR WILSON OWNER HAS WON COURT CASE
Rubbish -he has not won – the case is now going to Almeria. So a decent judge can decide.
Tracy has moved back on the site…..and diegos bar is closed
Tracy has moved back on site
so whats going on its gone all quiet
residents are saying mr wilson has won all the legal cases and now wants rent off those who are in turre hiding
well done to shaun now maybe all the idiots will be felling stupid they only wanted a free ride they should enjoy what theve got down there so much investment has gone in to build a great site wish I was still out there
so whats happening now is the site still open, and what happened to all the people that did not pay there site fees for years are they still on site ?
Lost of interesting comments!!
We buy, sell, transport and store mobile homes all over Spain (and Portugal & France). I see so many problem campsites where the blame has varios origins.
1. Use a reputable lawyer, this is a joke ! a third of all the problem sites we deal with have a corrupt lawyer involved. After 11 years working here I have found one or two only.
2. Town halls do have a responsibility however the same goes as above, the mayor and architect often have a new range rover or swimming pool thanks to the guy developing the site so they turn a blind eye !
3. Get a Spanish speaker and write a letter to the local government asking about a particular site, town halls and Mayors in the main cannot be trusted.
4. If you are thinking of buying a mobile home on a site go and rent a property through the winter and stay near by and drink and eat in the club house and the local bars. Within 1 month max you will know whethere it is worth buying one or not.
5. If you own a mobile home on Oasis parks and dont want to pay the rent take it off or ppay the ground fees if you dont want the hassle.
6. The problem is there are no resales and peoples circumstances change for good reason, health, finances, family, boredom (they have tried it and want to move on) and all sorts of other things. When they come to sell they cannot. When nobody can sell then the trouble starts and which is why we have removed and sold over 300 homes in the last 5 years.
Mr Wilson and the likes of him are only using the system for their own gain, do your homework before you buy !!!!
SO…can you recomend a good mobile site in southern spain with lower annual rental fees….and how much to transfer a mobile homethere from oasis….
YEAH wheres the best vheapest site in south spain
you seem to know it all
First of all I am sure there are good campsites out there but we tend to remove mobile homes from sites where there are problems, these issues are many and varied.
The problem is that there are little or no resales of mobile homes. 10 years ago there was almost a ‘feeding frenzy’ of British clients coming over to Spain buying anything with with a chassis and wheels located in a campsite or a dust bowl. It didnt matter if you made a mistake, once you bought you could then sell it almost straight away if you made a mistake and move on to another site, buy or rent a house or whatever.
Now there is no resale market and campsite residents cannot sell their mobile home so the situation stagnates. They become annoyed living on a site and they start and hate the situation they are in paying fees to live in a mobile home on a site they see as being the cause of the problem which sometimes it is and sometimes it is not.
People want to sell for various reasons, ill health, age, finances, missing the family and disputes on the site with both the campsite owner and their neighbours. The British residents on campsites seem to have an uncanny knack of dividing themselves up into little groups of friends who then shun people who where friends beforehand. This creates even more disaccord. We see it on practically every campsite we go on. Having too much time on our hands and a bottle of wine to loosen the tongue certainly does not help !
So the resale situation certainly does not help and it is for this reason we have now moved so many mobile homes.
I ceratinly do not know it all far from it but what I can say is that ‘cheap’ site fees in Spain do not seem to exist and certainly not on a site that is ‘fully’ legal. By the way as you all know there is no such thing as a fully legal site, Spanish law prohibits that a private individual be the owner of a mobile home on a campsite, the owner must either be a tour operator company (i.e a compy like Eurocamp or other) or the actual campsite itself. I have heard this law may have been relaxed in some areas but not sure. This is because the authorities see it as a way of getting a home or vivienda in Spain without the relevant permissions.
So I couldnt say where there is a good campsite with low fees I am sorry although I am sure there are good sites and legal which traditionally have tended to be near the coast. What you will have to accept is higher fees and sharing the sites with a seasonal influx of Spanish and foreigners on their summer holidays bringing tents, tourers and autocaravanas. As I have mentioned before it is best to go in the off season and rent an apartment or stay close to the site you are looking to move to and with time on your hands talk to the locals who already live on site.
Moving fees vary but typically a 40 tonne crane costs anywhere from 500-1000 euros depending on the distance it travels and the number of hours in a day on site. The lorry 1000-3000 euros depending on the length of the journey plus any additional costs to disconnect the mobile home. The problem is if you go to another site you may then have to pay an ingoing fee also the site may not allow a mobile home in over a certain age.
The majority if not nearly all the vendors of the mobile homes from whom we buy who are staying in Spain go and rent an apartment or townhouse in the local village for the same amount per month as they where paying in ground fees or less. They then put the value of the mobile home sold into the bank.
There are no easy answers I am sorry but if anyone wants to e mail me a telephone number on wobbie15@gmail.com I will be more than happy to speak with them………………..
so whats this drivel got to do with us
these people who still own vans on oasis but dont live in them dont tell you that they let family and friends rent them in summer time, i retired here in 2011 after spending a few holidays here even though i had heard all the rumours
about the site being illegal, i have also listened to people talking about mr church, the site is a great place to live with some very nice people on here, I for one hope the matter is sorted, as for the people who haven’t paid any rent for years you are lucky you still own your van,if you don’t pay your rent in the uk you are evicted, I was in the leasure industry for 20 years this site has so much potential,I just wish Shaun Wilson could be more sociable
Ive heard there are not many people left on the site paulhas left and the place is infeste with rats in the drains due to neglect
Is the caravan park grand oasis between turre and Monahan still open?
It should say between turre and mojacar thanks
No it’s closed
I Drove around it the other day and would say it is in serious need of a make over. There where lots of touring vans that where falling to bits. A broken drain at the top and so many abandoned statics I am not sure how many people are left paying rent.
If some people are happy with that the best of British to them !
so whats happened to Jackie and derek aswell
closed shockin so is the barrier up or just abandoned who is on the gate
Maybe the barrier was just up when you where there booby Carr. Nobody can get there mobile home off is what I have heard
so whats happened to derrek and Jackie tell us more
I think youremaking it up there ust be people running the place
There are about three vans occupied, nobody works in reception or shop, half the barrier bust, most of the vans abandoned and nobody pays. the baris open but ppl there dont pay rent im told and all illegal when gennies run out the 3vans and bar put money in kitty to pay for more deisal
Not sure who you refer to as making things up. I was there 1 month ago and still people running the site but it was a mess with a lot of abandoned mobile homes and touring caravans left to rot. Some people trying to maintain their plot and van and keep up a brave face but otherwise a bit of a mess really
so its not shut just you moaners making stuf up again
actually I went in may theres not many left on the site
my frieind left 2 years ago she told me that she went to see her solicitor in t he north east
and as a result was told PURCHASE OF HER MOBILE HOME WAS COUCTED IN ENGLANDo an Englishperson and an English address were the contract was fron and paid into a English bank so is covered by ENGLIH law and can be pusued in the English courts county court or higher for a full refund since the site has no residency permit or full legal status like buying englsih house with no deeds une esell without goods not as described or fit for purpose possible fraud
she has had full refund dave church I barkinup the wrong tree it has nothing to do with spain Spanish town hall os fields etctec NOW IVE TOLD YOU you see
Very Interesting Booby Carr
LETS HAVE SOME contact telephone info for Spanish solicitor denuncia and anyone who has updates then
looks llike dave church has gone to the usa no sign of him anymore bye bye pied piper
Actually Dave is still living in Turre….seen him last week. But interesting about the pursuing thro English court will pass info to friends who have been trying legally to get recompense for 4 years. Thanks
if you were to sell your caravan or mobile home to people from the uk they would consider it an investment to be sold at a profit or rented out or left to family if the site has no legal resident permits or legal licence for a caravan residents park they could then discover this and sue you in the English courts for mis selling mis representation even years later you might have to give them a full refund plus costs
cannot resell them either its trade description act no legal status could have to refund the buyer
Has the pool bar shut no sign of Kevin anymore
of course hes there doing a good job but heard legal case is looming in court soon