A petition urging caravan parks to provide a refund on their site fees, after Parkdean Resorts announced that they would not be doing so, has had nearly 30,000 signatures.

Owners at Brynowen Holiday Park in Borth, which is owned by Parkdean Resorts, will not be getting a refund on their site fees, despite not being able to access their caravan during the coronavirus lockdown.

One caravan owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, has said he is “absolutely disgusted” at Parkdean’s decision.

A petition, which currently has 29,259 signatures, has been launched appealing for the UK Government to “step in and instruct these park owners that a partial refund should be given for the missed weeks and months”.

The caravan owner, who has owned a caravan on Brynowen for seven years, said: “As an owner of a static caravan on Brynowen I am absolutely disgusted to find out, as of 14 May via the Parkdean Resorts website, that all holiday owners on their holiday parks across the UK will not be receiving any refund or discount on pitch fees since the Covid-19 lockdown as of the 23 March.

“Parkdean resorts have said that they are not obligated to refund the pitch fees for any of its holiday owners on the advice of their company’s insurers.

“As one of the many owners on Brynowen I find it hard to believe that all holiday makers are getting a full refund but not the owners who contribute to the site and the local community all year round.”

The caravan owner paid his pitch fees of £4,388.00 in full, for the 2020 season, on 8 December 2019.

A spokesperson for Parkdean Resorts said: “We understand that this is a frustrating and worrying time for everybody, and this is not the outcome that some owners had wanted.

“The pitch licence agreement allows owners to keep their holiday home on the park, in exchange for paying the pitch fee.

“It does not guarantee that the park will remain open or that owners will be able to use their holiday home at any particular time, especially in the event of a public health emergency such as this where the government has ordered entire industries to shut down.”

Ros Pritchard, director general of the British Holiday & Home Parks Association, said: “The holiday caravan agreement is not an agreement to rent the holiday to them.

“Rather, it is a licence for the provision of the pitch to site that caravan – which the consumer owns – and for the maintenance of the park and its utilities infrastructure to supply the caravan.

“These services continue to be provided for the consumer’s caravan despite the lockdown.”