Some rainy days in autumn don’t herald the depths of winter – breaks in the weather still give you plenty of chances to tow away the caravan for a weekend or two.
For some light reading matter as you relax at your chosen campsite, here are some of the current headlines for existing and prospective caravan owners.
North Devon holiday park seeks year-round caravan use
The owners of the Cleavewood Leisure Park near the North Devon resort of Woolacombe have made a bid to turn the seasonal caravan site into a park for year round use.
Remarking on the planning application in a story on the 25th of October, the BBC noted that the park’s current licence allowed the occupation of its caravans between the 15th of March and the 31st of October only. The owners now consider these restrictions to be unduly dated and want to allow year-round occupation by owners.
North Devon County Council will consider the planning application in due course.
Caravan Award winners announced for 2024
The hotly anticipated annual Caravan Awards for the coming 2024 season have been announced by Caravan magazine, according to Out and About Live on the 19th of October.
Among the many categories of winners, the following stand out:
- Caravan of the year for 2024 – Swift Elegance Grande 835;
- Best Luxury Caravan – Swift Elegance Grande 835;
- Best Lightweight and Compact Caravan – Xplore 304;
- Best Caravan costing less than £30,000 – Sprite Grande Major 4 SB;
- Coolest Caravan – La Mancelle Liberty 440 PC;
- Best 4-Berth Caravan – Coachman VIP 575;
- Best Caravan for Couples – Bailey Phoenix GT75 420; and
- Dealer of the Year 2024 – Red Lion Caravans.
Work to start next year on expanding Whitstable holiday park
Controversial plans to significantly expand the capacity of the Alberta Holiday Park at Seasalter near Whitstable have been given the go-ahead by a planning inspector who overturned the rejection of the proposals by Canterbury City Council, reported Kent Online on the 22nd of October.
The expansion plans feature pitches for a further 91 static caravans on the site – a number that objectors complain will have a harmful impact on the landscape, be visually intrusive, and compound traffic problems in the area. Concerned residents feared that the proposals would result in the seaside village of Seasalter becoming a further version of Sheppey – which, they say, is overwhelmed by the number of caravan sites.
The Alberta Holiday Park currently already has an operating licence for up to 400 holiday homes.
World’s most advanced caravan makes towing with an electric car easy
If you’ve ever doubted that an electric vehicle (EV) is quite up to towing a caravan, a story in Auto Express on the 20th of October might help to convince you of the possibilities.
The article unveils the Pebble Flow – itself an all-electric trailer that packs so much by way of innovation that it is branded the most high-tech caravan in the world.
The secret to the Pebble Flow’s contribution to EV automation is its so-called Active Propulsion Assist System – an arrangement of two electric motors that power the trailer and take the strain out of towing whether by an electric vehicle or one that is conventionally fuelled.
As a fully electric caravan, the Pebble Flow also has detectors that position the trailer and automatically hitch it to the towing vehicle – controlled by a simple app on a smartphone. Once you’ve arrived at your chosen campsite, the unhitched Pebble Flow can then manoeuvre itself into the tightest of pitches.