Affordable housing was on the agenda recently for Kettering MP Philip Hollobone when he met in Westminster with the head of a major park homes manufacturer from his constituency.
Mr Hollobone was the guest of Silvano Geranio, managing director of Prestige & Homeseeker, at the annual conference of the British Holiday & Home Parks Association in London.
Held at the QEII Conference Centre in Westminster, just a short distance from Parliament, the event was attended by representatives from many of Britain’s 3000-plus parks and their suppliers.
Prestige & Homeseeker, which is based in Kettering and Rushden in Northants, employs over 360 people, and is one of the park industry’s largest manufacturers of residential homes and holiday lodges.
Mr Geranio, whose business first started out in 1991, outlined to help deliver affordable housing for older couples.
More than 250,000 people in the UK now live in park homes, he said, and enjoy retirement or semi-retirement in a mutually supportive communities in well-managed surroundings.
Mr Hollobone said he believed that the type of properties made by Prestige & Homeseeker, and the lifestyle residential parks offer, have an important role to play in the government’s housing policy.
The MP also heard from Mr Geranio that planning remained an important facto develop and expand in the future.
“We were delighted that Mr Hollobone was able to learn more about our business and its impact both locally and nationally,” said Mr Geranio.
“Mr Hollobone clearly recognises the valuable part played by residential parks in allowing elderly folk to maintain their independence in often beautiful semi-sheltered environments,” he added.
Speakers at the conference included former government minister Christopher Chope MP who was chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Mobile Homes in the previous Parliament.