Perranview Site Report

Nick and Judith have met with Matt a couple of times throughout the year, and these meeting have been positive and useful

At the end of September, we both walked around the site; then met with Matt afterwards.

We both complimented Matt and Tony for the immaculate presentation of the grounds. All the hard work has definitely paid off. The grass looks great, and is always well cut. The hedges, trees and flowers are very well cared for, and additional planting has done a great deal to improve the general look of the site. A clever addition has been the flower boxes placed at strategic points on the walls of some of the houses, which again goes some way to disguise the drab appearance of the grey render.

In terms of improving the drabness of the houses, the painting project has been shelved, due to spiralling costs, but Matt has followed up on our discussion about the use of cladding, and showed us some samples of what could be used. Martyn Fowler has expressed an interest, and Matt has sent him the same samples. To part-clad the front of one house would cost about £450, but this would come at a significantly reduced cost if more owners and the Fowler properties took part in the scheme. The costing is ongoing, but we will keep other owners informed.

On other external matters, the state of the car park remains a concern, and is often the subject of negative comments on sites such as Tripadvisor. Due to the significant cost of repairs, it still appears to be off the list of improvements, but Matt continues to try to bring it to the top of the agenda.

The dilapidated house which spoiled the view of the site has finally been demolished, and the builder/owner of the plot is living on site in a caravan, with a plan to build a four bed property for his own use.

There are still some families apparently living on site – about 4 or 5 in Matt’s estimation. Although we have made our concerns clear, with regard to insurance being void, and a question mark over how council tax is managed, with the possible impact on responsible owners, this seems to be a topic that is not a priority as far as John Fowler is concerned.

There has been no further consideration about wifi availability throughout the park. Matt acknowledges that this would be a positive step, and it is one that he would like to address in the future.

In the reception area itself, as we noted last time, the shop looks very attractive and is now far better presented. Matt is planning new worktops for the reception/bar area. We noticed a smell of damp from reception through to the entertainment area. Matt thinks this is a result of a leak from the roof, now fixed, but this whole area looks very run down, and the carpet has definitely seen better days.

Another planned improvement is to change the old disabled toilet at the end of the pool into a family changing room, which should be well used.

The kitchen did well over the peak season, but the chef has now moved elsewhere. However, his staff remain, with a slightly reduced menu option.

Quite a few entertainment staff have left as the season draws to an end. Matt is hoping to change the entertainment programme so that there is a greater variety and more options for adults, as well as the children. The idea of the Bingo Collective, with bigger prizes across sites has had to be shelved, due to the sale of the Ilfracombe site, which was the host for the technology required.

Judith noted that there had been complaints in her visitors’ book about the cleaning of her house on one occasion. Matt said that this had been a one off, as there had been a few complaints in quick succession, and changes had immediately been made to the cleaning team.

It has been a busy season, and with the improvements that have been made this year, combined with ongoing improvement plans, we can hope for a positive season next year as well.

We would like to express our thanks to Matt and all of his team for their hard work and enthusiasm.

Judith Hasell

Nick Muller

SITE REPS