CARAVAN owners at a park belonging to “Gypsy Billionaire” Alfie Best have said the site has been left a “dump” despite them claiming to have been promised a £5million makeover by bosses.
Residents at the Seaview Holiday Park in Sennen, , have complained they shelled out £30,000 for vans – but the site has now been left run down, while the holiday tycoon resides in a lavish mansion.
Seaview Park in Sennen was promised to be a luxury escapeCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
The photos online were claimed to be far from realityCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
The pools that were boasted of appear to be left unattendedCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
When The Sun visited, guests said the facilities were anything but premier – and pictures show some of the dilapidated pitches and facilities.
This includes piles of rubble where have been removed, electricity cables dumped on the ground next to wooden planks with nails sticking out, a sad and run-down playground and a pool filled with leaves and grass growing through poolside paving slabs.
A number of caravans looked in a dilapidated state, some with deep muddy ruts leading up to them.
The accommodation is in stark contrast to Mr Best’s £6million Surrey mansion where his well-heeled neighbours include an Arab sheikh and Queen rock star Brian May.
In addition to his luxurious house up a gated drive, Mr Best owns an enviable collection of supercars – which include a Ferrari F8 Spider, Rolls-Royce and £2.7m Bugatti Chiron as well as a helicopter designed by Aston Martin.
Best’s firm Wyldecrest has responded to the claim, stating it is taking matters “seriously” and is committed to completing the refurbishments.
And when responding the claim of £5m investment, park bosses blamed the cost of living crisis – saying they have had to cut back after the original post-Covid staycation boom.
One resident – who didn’t want to be named – told The Sun: “Look around. It’s a dump.”
They added: “I don’t know where is, I’ve never seen him but it’s well known there are problems with the facilities here, it’s just nobody can be bothered to fix them.
“We get charged £6,500 per year and for what?”
The caravan owner also said their vans now too old to sell on – but park chiefs told The Sun they are extending the original contracted sale period by an extra 12 months.
The resident added: “It’s a horrible way to live.”
Best has a total net worth of £740 millionCredit: Arthur Edwards
An exclusive look into Best’s home in 2023 revealed the luxurious interiorCredit: Darren Fletcher
Best himself grew up in a caravan park, far from the mansion he now inhabitsCredit: Darren Fletcher
Visitors to Seaview have also criticised conditions on Tripadvisor with one posting: “Very limited toilets and showers, considering the size of the site.
“Toilets were always out of paper, hand towels and some had no soap. Only two sinks at the washing station, left covered in old food for days at a time. Again limited showers for this size of the site, which were very small cubicles and not very clean, poor lighting.
“Pitches were not great, not a great size, one of ours had a big boulder in the floor.
“For the price of the site we definitely expected more.”
Debbie and Stan Mularczyk who bought a £32,000 caravan at the site in 2022 to spend more time in their beloved and have an extra income from renting it out when they’re not using it.
The couple claim they were told that the site owner planned to invest £5m over the coming years and they would be able to sell their caravan on if they wished.
Debbie said: “The caravans on the website look great and the site shows all the bells and whistles.
“But there are none.
“We love the location but the site is dilapidated. There are utility cables sticking out of the ground. The children’s play area has just two items left and the pitch and putt is broken.
“This is charged to us for fees of £6,000 a year. There hasn’t been a manager there now since October, so no health and safety when it comes to antisocial behaviour.”
“You would not believe that this is actually a holiday site advertised to open to guests again next month.
“It’s just a bomb site. The historical photos are still used to advertise today but it looks nothing like the photos from years ago.”
Debbie and Stan said they were “stuck” and unable to sell their caravans on because they are over 10 years old – but they purchased them when they were already 12 years old.
Nick Heywood, head of holiday homes at Wyldecrest, which owns eight holiday parks and 112 residential parks in the UK, said the Sennen site has been inspected by Cornwall Council recently over its licence and the local authority did not find anything wrong.
He insisted there has been a lot of investment in the site and it looks “nothing like a bomb site”.
He added: “The hire fleet has been upgraded. All empty plots have been cleared of debris and a new road has been installed from the two lodges at the side of the pool round the back of the park.
“We have maintained the grounds to an acceptable standard. Installed additional CCTV and re-opened the games room for the children and the soft play.”
Heywood has also said he is scheduling a meeting with all concerned Seaview Park owners so they can talk about any problems they might have.
He told The Sun: “Wyldecrest has agreed that owners will have a 12-month opportunity to sell their park homes even though this is outside of their contract preventing them from selling after their homes had reached a certain age.
“We are taking these issues very seriously and have installed a new park manager, receptionist and an additional maintenance person, and we have already purchased new equipment to assist with the upkeep of Seaview.
“In addition, we have committed to installing more roads and have plans in place with regard to other projects at Seaview including an upgraded play area for children which we have just signed off on.”
The meeting has now been scheduled for March 21.
And when asked about the plans for £5million in investment, Heywood added: “Back in 2021/2022 when we purchased the Park the industry was in a very buoyant position and as we all witnessed, what with the post Covid holiday boom and the staycations.
“Unfortunately, more recently increased prices of everything has taken its toll on the industry. Wyldecrest as a Group have continued to perform in this arena while several other Park Operators have fallen by the wayside.
“We have done this by cutting back on spending and ensuring that we are performing as lean as possible.
“With this in mind we still have carried out investments on Seaview Holiday Park and we are now starting a new phase of investment which is due to be rolled out at the owners meeting.”
Areas were left unkept and provided difficulties for residentsCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Residents say they tried to speak out against conditions but were met with cold responsesCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
The children’s playground features a mere three items to play withCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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