For the past four winters, Ben Beecroft, 36, has kept a caravan outside his home in Sneyd Green, Stoke-on-Trent. However, the joiner’s new model appears to have incurred the wrath of certain neighbours who he claims are resentful he has got himself a job. As a result, Stoke-on-Trent City Council has given Ben four weeks to shift his caravan which has been parked partly on the carriageway and partly on the pavement on East Crescent.
Ben believes that his neighbours have reported him to the council out of jealousy. He said: “It’s the neighbours who have reported us to the council. I’ve had a caravan parked there for four years but as soon as I had a new one, it’s an issue. They don’t like it because I have nice stuff, that’s how it is. When I first moved in, I was single. I put music on and never got any complaints. If you don’t work, you get on fine. But as soon as you work, no-one likes you. As soon as I got my caravan it must have made them jealous.”
Ben argued that if he had to remove his caravan, then his neighbours should remove their cars as they are ‘wider’. He said: “Everyone is parked on the street on both sides, all the way down the street. I would understand it if it was a proper main road and you couldn’t get past. But there’s enough room for everyone to get past. The bin men can pass it with no issues, whatsoever. On the footpath, my old man’s got a mobility scooter – and he can get past.”
A Stoke-on-Trent City Council spokesman said: “The officer was able to establish the owner of the vehicle and explained that parking was not permitted as it constituted an unauthorised structure on the highway. We are currently in the process of ensuring that the structure is legally parked and the regulations are adhered to before we take any further action and will be in touch with the resident shortly.”
The issue of parking caravans on residential streets can be a contentious one, as Ben Beecroft has found out over the past four years outside his home in Sneyd Green, Stoke-on-Trent. It appears that his neighbours have reported him to the council out of jealousy, resulting in Ben being given four weeks to shift his caravan which has been parked partly on the carriageway and partly on the pavement on East Crescent. The council has sent one of its rights of way officers to the scene and are in the process of ensuring that Ben’s structure is legally parked and that regulations are adhered to before further action is taken.
