Willow Park Residents Denied Water Compensation Payouts
Written by Harry Turnbull
A group of 159 park home residents in Flintshire say they have been denied compensation after a three-day water outage due to a regulation loophole.
Residents of Willow Park, Queensferry, were left without running water from 14th to 17th August, when a major pipe burst disrupted supplies across the Flintshire area. While householders in nearby areas have since received compensation of £200 to £250 from Welsh Water (Dŵr Cymru), Willow Park householders have been told they are not eligible.
The reason is because the site has just one water account and that is in the name of the business – Shelfside Holdings – part of the Wyldecrest group. Even if the owners shared out the compensation – a total of an estimated £210 – it would mean just £1.32 each .
It’s another blow to the community who shelled out a massive £128,000 in water charges last year – £68 a month – due to leakages.
Ken Pierce, Chairman of the Willow Park Residents’ Association, has written to both Welsh Water and Ofwat, calling the situation a “regulatory anomaly” that unfairly penalises park home communities: “All the residents here suffered the same loss of water as everyone else in Flintshire but because our water bill is paid via the park owner, the compensation goes to them — even though residents are the ones who pay the charges.”
Welsh Water acknowledged the issue but told Mr Pierce it was bound by current regulations, which require compensation to be paid solely to the named account holder.
Mr Pierce is now urging Ofwat to intervene and “recognise the anomaly”, warning that park home residents across Wales and England could face similar injustices under the existing rules.:“We don’t blame the system of bulk billing but in this case, it’s the residents who went without water — not the account holder. We are simply asking for fairness.”
He has asked the regulator to grant an exception and authorise Welsh Water to compensate those directly affected.
Willow Park, owned by Wyldecrest Parks, is one of the largest mobile home sites in Flintshire. Residents say they have faced ongoing issues around utilities and charges, and this latest incident has strengthened calls for clearer protections for park home communities. Wyldecrest is replacing pipes that caused huge leakages.
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Image credit: “Wyldecrest Parks offices, West Purfleet – geograph.org.uk – 7640368” by David Howard is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
About the author:
Harry Turnbull is an experienced journalist based in the north who has held a variety of reporting and editing roles in the media.He also writes a reviews column for the UK’s biggest archive of BBC radio dramas.
