'Give Yorkshire's caravan industry more support', Chancellor urged

Local manufacturers Swift, Willerby, ABI, Delta, Coachman, Europa and Victory, employ 10,000 people with another 20,000 in the supply chain.

They were just at the start of their prime selling period in March when more than 3,000 caravan parks in the UK were shut down.

In a letter to the Chancellor, Councillor Steve Brady of Hull Council, and Councillor Richard Burton of East Riding Council say there are fears the downturn could be worse then the previous recession, with a "significant" number of redundancies already.

Prior to lockdown, the companies had full order books and going forward there was optimism that the industry would get a major boost from people preferring to holiday at home.

The letter - which comes ahead of an adjournment debate on Monday secured by Hull West and Hessle MP Emma Hardy - asks the Chancellor to say whether manufacturers are eligible for a business rates cut or a holiday.

It says a recent briefing - which suggested they would be eligible - had caused "confusion".

It adds that allowing the tax relief would "support a number of significant local businesses and in turn help to keep people in work.

"Given the excess stock these companies are now holding and the fact that the furlough scheme starts to be reduced at the latter part of the industry 'season', is Government willing to look at other stimulus mechanisms for the market?"

Victory Leisure Homes, which is based in Gilberdyke, stopped production in March.

This week has seen the start of a phased return with a line, employing 50 people, starting up. Another line, with another 55 to 60 people, will return in three weeks time.

Sales director John Wigglesworth said lockdown couldn't have come at a worse time, in what is their most important month, as caravan parks start taking deliveries.

They had just started a recruitment drive and had a whole range of new models lined up.

"It killed the industry at its worst possible week," he said. "If the caravan parks (in England) open as a lot of them hope they will in early July, we might be able to rescue a couple of months of the season. We just need Wales and Scotland to follow suit."

They have not made any redundancies and are not planning to, he said, adding that there was room for optimism, with people choosing to holiday in the UK and appreciating "how the industry has moved on in 20, 30 years."

NCC Deputy Director General, Alicia Dunne, said they needed the help of MPs – from Yorkshire and beyond – to get caravan parks open.

She said: "Even then, caravan businesses will need additional financial help to get them through what could be a very difficult winter.

"Independent forecasts for dispatches for this year could be worse than those experienced in the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.

“It is not just the re-opening of parks. We would like to see Government examine other ways the industry can be assisted, to protect jobs, and the entire supply chain."

A Treasury spokesperson said: “Our job retention scheme has helped a million employers and protected 8.9 million jobs across the U.K.

"We have extended it until October – meaning it will have been open for eight months and will continue to support businesses as the economy reopens and people return to work.

“As well as furloughing staff, we’ve introduced a wide range of other targeted support measures for different sectors, including business rates holidays and cash grants of up to £25,000 for eligible firms.”