Washed out

Apr 19, 2007
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As featured in Practical Caravan, we spent from last Wednesday to yesterday at Southview Leisure Park in Skegness. Lovely site, good toilets and showers, swimming pool etc (although 20p non refundable for locker). It rained when we put up the awning and a puddle settled inside but we covered it with dusbin bags to keep the groundsheet dry. We missed the rain when we went out until the Sunday. We relaxed in our van until the kids came back from swimming. It had been raining quite hard for about an hour and when we open the van door, rain was pouring off the road through our awning. The groundsheet was floating, water had gone over into the inner bedroom soaking the sleeping bags, clothes etc. We got out what we could which wasnt much then my husband took me over to reception to ask for help. The girl who greeted us rolled her eyes as if to say, "Oh God, we have another complaint" them shrugged and said what did I expect her to do. The manager then came out, sat on the desk chewing gum and also said what did I expct him to do. This was the best site aorund and they never had flooding. It would dry up in 20 minutes, it alwaqys did -no help there then. Our grandson went back to them 1/2 hour later and they sent a man over. We asked if he could get us a plank so we could walk out the van relatvely dry footed which he said he would. Two hours later my grandson went back to reception to be told the man had gone home and there was no wood.

Meanwhile the vans on our side were also flooding and the water had flowed over into the pitches behind and they were frantically saving their things. One man took his car off site and found somd pallets. We meanwhile had also found some wood. Nothing else could be done so we went to bed - 6 in a 3 bed caravan. The water was still there. If we didn't have our sence of humour we would have cried. We managed to get the awning and van onto the road but bent two poles and ripped the awming doing to.

I am physically disabled, walk with two cruches for short distances and but also use a wheelchair and visually impaired, my husband is also disabled. One worked drove by the next morning but I stopped him. He said it was the problem of Anglian Water as they had stopped them from poring more water down the drains!!! and had switched them off. I may be a woman but I'm not that simple. A lady next to us had a six month old baby and when she went back to ask for her money back she was told they could not open the tills on a Sunday and they laughed at her.According to some loca lpeople who live on this site, this is an ongoing situation and nothing gets done. We saw no dranage systen on these particular pitches, only on the super pitches which were also getting under water. All we asked for was a little help but got none.

Will we go back to this site -NO, not if it forcasts rain.
 

Damian

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Mar 14, 2005
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Linda, whilst I understand your frustration with what has happened to you, and many others on that site, itis not alone in having those problems this year, with the extraordinary rainfall we have endured.

There is only aq limited amount site owners can reasonably do, and stocking palletts or lots of wood, on the "off chance" that it may rain is impractical, not only from a storage point of view, but also from a safety point of view.

Most of the sites here on the Isle of Wight are a total mess, pitches will be lucky if they recover by next year, and that will be with an enormous amount of work to re seed them, if the weather stays dry enough to get machinery on site.

I know when things go wrong it is nice to have someone to blame, well, this year , it is no ones fault, just extreme weather, and if the forecasts are right, something which will happen much more often in the future.
 
Aug 20, 2007
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Dear Linda, i can sympathise with your situation. we have stayed on this site many times with our tourer and have gone for the past 3 years over the new year period to celerbrate with family members who have a static on this site. however it as become an increasing problem with the drainage and this is not down to the adverse weather we have recently experienced. the new year of 2005 there was a snow fall which was great for the season but as soon as it started to melt the problems started.the water started backing up and as we were staying on the hardstanding super pitches it was coming up through the block paving and the small waste drains. on new years day we went to our relations stactic for a meal, on our return to our van later that night there was a dreadfull smell of sewage in the awning. it was so bad we were unable to sleep in our van so gathered a few esentials and went back to the static to stay over night. the next day we went to the recepiton to report the problem(again!)as you say they were not interested.i dont think the drainage system is adequate for the size of the site and the bigger its got no improvements have been made. my relations have also had similar problems in the static area and some of the stactics on grass have been so water logged they cant get to the van. a great site for ameneties but not customer service.

trying to find a new location for this christmas if anyone as any ideas.

ps. my relation now selling the static which is worth about
 
May 12, 2006
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Hi Linda, Debbie

Afraid the only comeback maybe Trading Standards.

I am sure they would put you in touch with the dept who regulate this site

Trading Standards 08454 040506

Skegness District Council.

Doubt they can help with the poor service that needs to be directed to the site owners.

Val & Frank
 
Aug 8, 2007
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If this site has known that it has poor drainage in times of heavy rainfall, it should've done something about it in the past - or at least have some emergency procedures in place to help out (ie the wood/pallets idea for one).

A campsite is a business and for me, good business means quality customer care. I wouldn't buy a car from a dealer who chewed gum/gave a 'what can I do about it' shrug/had attitude. If I'm parting with my hard earned cash, I want the best service possible.

I would write a strong letter of complaint and point out that you've raised it on this forum - maybe putting the letter to Practical Caravan too. It might do nothing, but at least it shows that an awareness is growing of their 'problems'.

Luckily - there are lots of other sites!
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Hi Linda,

I always stop on cc sites, but have experienced local flooding

when the sites are hit by heavy showers.

Worst site i have stayed on is the cc site near Lowestoft, its below sea level last time we where there not only did certain pitches get flooded out but raw sewage came flooding out of a drain to mix with the water that was flooding these pitches mine being one of them. I was lucky in sofar we did not have our awning erected unlike my neighbours either side of me.We have a outside our door two step to get into the van and the water was just below the top step.

Good point was that being a cc site the warden had rung the waste people who turned up with there lorries to pump away the flooded areas.Sprayed all our pitches with a disifectant solution

Bad point when the warden was challenged with regarding the flooding, His reply was didnt you read the notice on the desk advising which pitches are prone to flooding, after alot of hard talking he actually authorised a refund of three nights pitch fees, to all of us that had faced the problem..

Now on every site we visit i always ask the question, which pitches are prone to flooding.Which up untill now has worked, but with the current weather where whole sites are being flooded out, I am ringing ahead to make sure that there are dry pitches available.

Royston
 
Apr 19, 2007
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I have sent a very strong letter to the management of this site but somehow I don't think they will reply.

We have been to other sites and been flooded, but the owners have always cared and helped their custmers. This site seems to be in it just for the money.
 
Oct 24, 2007
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Dear Linda, i can sympathise with your situation. we have stayed on this site many times with our tourer and have gone for the past 3 years over the new year period to celerbrate with family members who have a static on this site. however it as become an increasing problem with the drainage and this is not down to the adverse weather we have recently experienced. the new year of 2005 there was a snow fall which was great for the season but as soon as it started to melt the problems started.the water started backing up and as we were staying on the hardstanding super pitches it was coming up through the block paving and the small waste drains. on new years day we went to our relations stactic for a meal, on our return to our van later that night there was a dreadfull smell of sewage in the awning. it was so bad we were unable to sleep in our van so gathered a few esentials and went back to the static to stay over night. the next day we went to the recepiton to report the problem(again!)as you say they were not interested.i dont think the drainage system is adequate for the size of the site and the bigger its got no improvements have been made. my relations have also had similar problems in the static area and some of the stactics on grass have been so water logged they cant get to the van. a great site for ameneties but not customer service.

trying to find a new location for this christmas if anyone as any ideas.

ps. my relation now selling the static which is worth about
 

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