Covid-19
Latest update 12/10/20
**UPDATE** (12/10/20)
Dear Caravan Owner,
The Welsh Government has updated its guidance concerning lockdown areas and access to caravans for collection of belongings/to secure for winter as follows:
Can I visit my holiday home/caravan/holiday let/boat to collect my belongings and secure it for Winter?
Yes, we consider that you have a reasonable excuse to do this even if the trip involves travelling into, or out of an area with local restrictions. You may need to agree a time and date with the site owners to visit, and you should remain at the location for the shortest period possible before returning straight home.
While on site you should of course continue to maintain social distancing and practise good hand hygiene.
But you should not stay away from your local area overnight while local restrictions are in operation either where you live or where you would be staying.
Should we remain under lockdown restrictions until the end of the season (which sadly appears likely) please contact the park office on 02920 707512 to make an appointment to visit the site. This is to ensure we help minimise the number of people travelling to/attending the site at once, and to help fulfil our Track and Trace duties.
Please take into account previous instruction that the electricity will be disconnected over the winter period (Dec/Jan) for essential remedial work to be carried out. Plan ahead. (Empty fridges/freezers, unplug appliances etc.)
We will continue to update you as and when we are guided further. Please contact the park office between 9am-5pm daily should you have any questions at all.
https://gov.wales/vale-glamorgan-council-lockdown-frequently-asked-questions
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28/09/20
REMINDER: As per Government order, any person whose main residential address (as per site licence) is not in the Vale of Glamorgan must vacate the site by 6pm today. Many thanks for your cooperation.
MOST RECENT COUNCIL GUIDELINES IN PREPARATION FOR LOCAL LOCKDOWNS.
RECEIVED 24/09/20
If your site is NOT in a local lockdown area the following will apply:
You can accept guests from England
You can accept guests from Welsh counties that have not been put in lockdown (an up to date list of Welsh Lockdowns is available here - https://gov.wales/local-lockdown )
New guests should not be accepted where their home address is in a lockdown area, if new guests arrive on site from locked down areas they should be turned away and reported to the police via 101.
If you have guests on site who arrived after lockdown was imposed in their home area they should be asked to leave and reported to the police via 101.
If you have guests who arrived well before a lockdown was imposed in their home area and they have not returned there and can remain in their accommodation for the foreseeable future (this will generally apply to private caravan owners only) then they may remain on site but if they do return home at any point they should not be accepted back on site.
If your site IS in a local lockdown area the following will apply:
ALL guests who do not have a home address within the same County as the site must leave.
You can accept new guests ONLY IF their home address is in the same lockdown area (County) as the site.
Due to the current situation in Wales with local lockdowns taking place, any persons from areas covered by a local lockdown should remain at their home addresses, and should not travel to the caravan park. Any persons already at the caravan park that have not been home should update the park office as to their intentions. Should a local lockdown be put in place for the Vale of Glamorgan we would insist that all caravan owners return to the addresses provided on their site license.
For further guidance: https://gov.wales/local-lockdown
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Dear Caravan Owner,
May we please remind you that from today - 14 September 2020 - face coverings are compulsory in all indoor public places/shops - this includes the park office and launderette.
Also, we have received concerns from some of you that some caravan owners (and their visitors) are travelling to the caravan park from areas currently in lockdown - in direct violation of current Government directive. If you live in an area currently subject to a local lockdown you SHOULD NOT travel to the caravan park - you are also putting the health and safety of everyone at risk.
Please note it is our responsibility to pass on the information of anyone who continues to ignore Government advice/directive to the relevant authorities.
The Coronavirus pandemic continues to be a relevant and ongoing concern, and we are doing our best to keep everyone safe while adhering to all Government and local council rules and directives.
Many thanks for your continued support and cooperation.
The Bay Caravan Park
Announcement
10 July 2020
Following Welsh Assembly Government confirmation, we are delighted to announce that The Bay Caravan Park can reopen at 9am on Saturday 11 July 2020.
We really look forward to welcoming you back to the park! Please read below some important information regarding the reopening.
THE BAY CARAVAN PARK – COVID-19 CHANGES
Upon entry to the caravan park, you will notice the buzzer/visitor system is no longer in use. One of the conditions of the caravan park reopening was the ability to support NHS Track and Trace. This can be done via the barrier system, but only when the barrier cards are used (logging entry time, exit time, and caravan owner name). Therefore, the park office is no longer able to let anyone in or out of the caravan park.
You as a caravan owner can still have visitors, but you solely are responsible for them. Should we be unfortunate enough to encounter a case of COVID-19 on site, we must be able to ‘Track and Trace’ who was here, and when. For the purposes of Track and Trace, all caravan owners are considered the “lead member” of any groups (i.e. visitors) and are therefore responsible for said groups.
All caravan owners – and any visitors – will be expected to follow all relevant Government guidelines at all times. This means always observing social distancing, and hand sanitising thoroughly and frequently. This also includes following the rules regarding visiting other households (must be outside), and extended households.
The park office will be open at normal hours, but can only be accessed after pressing the doorbell outside and entry being granted. To maintain social distancing, only one person (or household) can enter at a time. There are markers outside for others to wait until the office is clear.
Debit/credit card is now the preferred method of payment for all transactions.
The shop will be open, with an order/collection system in place for your safety and convenience.
For everyone’s further safety, and to avoid multiple people handling trolleys and bottles, gas can now only be ordered for delivery. As usual, this must be done before 4pm on the day you would like it delivered. Connection and removal of the old bottle will only take place on the day of order. Also, if you request connection please check your old bottle as it will be taken away regardless, and please ensure any locks are removed so connection can take place.
Following Government and industry guidance, for the time being all shared facilities – swimming pool, clubhouse, play area and launderette - must remain closed.
You will be aware that by now you would usually have received your annual Rates/electricity bill. We have held off sending these out as we did not feel it fair until the caravan park could reopen. We also took the time to make amendments to the bills of caravan owners who have lost the use of their caravans these past months. These will be sent out to you in the coming weeks, along with a letter explaining what else the Company is looking to offer affected caravan owners.
Please note that all the usual park ‘Rules and Conditions’ must be followed, and any abusive or threatening behaviour to staff will not be tolerated.
Finally, should you have an idea or see something on the caravan park you think could be done to improve everyone’s safety, please let us know. We are all in this together, and we are open to any suggestion that could help keep us all safer.
If you have any questions at all regarding the closure that we have not yet answered – or any of the above - we encourage you to speak to us. Please call the park office on 02920 707512 or pop in and see us when it is safe to do so.
We look forward to seeing you again soon.
Kind regards,
Hamlett Enterprises Ltd.
*Please do not visit the caravan park if you or anyone in your extended household is displaying symptoms of COVID-19. Stay at home.*
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Previous
UPDATE: The recent Welsh Government announcement regarding self-contained holiday caravans was not expected and has taken the industry (including us!) by surprise. Please note the change in date from 13 July to 11 July is still pending the next review on 9 July. We will update you again when we know more.
July 2020
Dear Caravan Owner,
Thank you again for your patience and understanding at what continues to be an exceptional and truly unprecedented time. We hope that as you read this you and your loved ones are safe and well.
We have been monitoring developments closely over the past few months about re-opening and changes we need to implement in response to Covid-19. Following the Welsh Government’s most recent update on 29 June 2020, we are pleased to say it looks as though the caravan park will be able to re-open on 13 July 2020. As the Government is always keen to point out, however, confirmation of this relaxation in lockdown rules remains subject to the virus remaining under control. A Welsh Government formal review is scheduled for 9 July. Keep an eye on our website.
When the permission to re-open is confirmed, it will come with on-going Government restrictions and the need to take steps to keep us all as safe as possible from the virus.
When you return to the park, you will notice the safety measures that are in place. We are only permitting one person at a time into the office and, in line with Government guidelines, social distancing rules must be followed at all times. Hand sanitiser equipment will also be available at the entrance to the park office.
Caravan owners will be expected to comply with the visiting rules that are currently in place for households throughout Wales. As such, we would also ask you, for now, to keep visitors to the park to a minimum. If you do have visitors who are not from your household, do please maintain social distancing rules and make sure these visitors remain outside your caravans. To ensure that we keep you and the office staff safe we will not be distributing tokens for the park gate so we would ask you to be responsible for letting any visitors into and out of the park yourselves for the time being. We would also flag that there is very likely to be a directive to work with the Track and Trace system which may require us to keep a list of who is on the park at any time. We await guidance.
Due to current Government guidelines, you will appreciate that for now all shared facilities must remain closed. Please understand this is for the safety and protection of everyone. This will be continually under review and any changes relayed to you.
Finally, we are extremely mindful that you have not had the use of your caravans over these past months and we, along with the industry, are exploring adjustments that can be made whilst continuing to maintain the standards at the park. Do please bear in mind that security, maintenance and safety has had to continue during the enforced period of loss of access.
Thank you for reading – and we really look forward to welcoming you back on 13 July subject to any further changes announced by the Welsh Government.
Kind regards,
Hamlett Enterprises Ltd.
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UPDATE (22/06/20)
Hi there. Following the most recent Welsh Assembly Government announcement, the current aim is to reopen the caravan park on 13 July 2020 - although this date is pending another review on 9 July 2020. Please note that any change to travel restrictions before then will not impact the potential reopening date of the park. We will be in touch again soon, but all being well, we look forward to welcoming you back on the 13th! The Bay Caravan Park.
(10/06/20):
To our caravan owners: Many thanks for your continued patience and understanding at this exceptional time. We hope this message finds you and your loved ones safe and well. We have yet to be given a date on which we can reopen so, for now, the park remains closed. For this reason, and because travel to second homes is still prohibited, access to the park cannot be authorised under any circumstance. Many have questioned why the park is still occupied by so me. The reason for this is these people are either confirmed key workers, or have indicated they have nowhere else to go (which will be dealt with after). It is not one rule for one and one rule for another - we are being guided by Government and local Council. So for now, please stay safe, and again we thank you for your continued understanding. As soon as we know more we will be in touch. The Bay Caravan Park.
(27/03/20)
A big thank you to those of you who returned to your primary addresses as requested by Government earlier this week. Please be advised, however, that the caravan park is now CLOSED. As per Government order, non-essential trips should not be made. With this in mind, anyone found entering the park will immediately have their details passed onto the police and their site licence reviewed. There can be NO entry and NO exceptions. This remains in place until advised otherwise. Thank you for your co-operation, and we hope to see you again as soon as is safely possible.
(24/03/20)
Thank you for your response to our notification of the Government's order to close the caravan park. As you are aware the Government order was for caravan owners to return to their primary residences where possible. With an awareness that there would be exceptions we asked you to contact us. Please be assured that we are sensitive to personal circumstances and do wish to be helpful where possible. We are continuing to communicate with BH&HPA who are in discussion with Government and health agencies to try to provide further guidance for these exceptions. We have been advised to keep a written record of your reasons to show to relevant authorities which we are doing. Hopefully, we will receive further clarification shortly. We will write to you again with any updates. Rest assured that we continue to act in the best interests of caravan owners, our staff, and the wider community.
(24/03/20)
As anticipated, the Government has ordered the closure of caravan parks - including ours - with immediate effect. To comply with the order we would be grateful if those of you still on site could return to your primary residences as soon as practicable today. If you feel there is a valid reason why you cannot leave you need to let us know NOW. We have been advised to keep a written record to show to relevant authorities as required The BH&HPA have told us that the police in certain parts of the country are visiting holiday parks to enforce compliance. The Government has indicated that they will review these drastic measures in 3 weeks. We will continue to communicate with you as the situation develops. Needless to say, we hope that normal life will resume for us all, sooner rather than later. In the meantime, please do stay safe and heed the personal guidelines publicised by the Authorities.
(24/03/20)
PLEASE NOTE
AS PER GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES
WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT VISITORS ARE NOT PERMITTED ON THE CARAVAN PARK
MORE TO FOLLOW...
(23/03/20)
Following last week's update we have been in consistent communication with the British Holiday & Home Parks Association (BH&HPA), who are in contact with Government agencies.
The clear advice is that people who own caravans on parks should not go to their caravans, and that those already on sites should go home.
The BH&HPA has also advised us that the Government is highly likely to order the complete closure of all caravan parks including parks such as ours. Here is a link to today's BBC Wales news report https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-52004559.
If we receive a direction to close the park completely we will notify you as soon as possible. You will appreciate that a Government direction could give very short notice to close.
The health and safety of caravan owners and staff remains of paramount importance. Please continue to follow all Government guidelines including those regarding social distancing. In these unprecedented times we all have a responsibility to the wider community.
(19/03/20)
We wanted to update you on the position regarding the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and the potential impact on the operation of The Bay Caravan Park.
We are regularly monitoring the guidance from the UK Government, local Public Health Authorities and British Holiday & Home Parks Association Ltd, so that we have procedures in place to support the health and well-being of everyone.
Due to current guidance for people to avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other venues, as well as staff shortages, we have taken the decision to suspend opening the clubhouse and the swimming pool for the time being. The park office remains open to caravan owners at the moment (under certain restrictions), although we may be forced to review the situation.
As you will be aware there are lots of uncertainties surrounding travel and how best to protect everyone and we will continue to monitor the position and keep in touch with you.