Littlehampton Marina: Dozens set to made homeless amid mass eviction notices

George Depass, 27, is one of 34 tenants at Harbour Close, in Littlehampton Marina, who have been served with eviction notices.

A letter was sent by the Broomer Farm Group to all the caravans on the site last Friday (January 5) telling those who live there that they must vacate by March 6.

Mr Depass said: “I am a young self-employed man, the odds are stacked against me, but I was able to secure a mobile home on the marina, where I have lived since March 23 [2023].

"This is a lovely site of mobile homes with a real community spirit. Some people have been here for years. The whole site woke up Friday morning to a section 21 eviction notice. We are all to be made homeless.

"We are scared and worried sick. We have nowhere to go and are facing homelessness through no fault of our own.”

In the letter, signed by landlord Emma Grubb, residents were told the 38 static caravans on site were not compliant with government legislation – mainly due to the lack of energy efficiency.

Mrs Grubb reassured tenants that she and her husband Thomas would do everything possible to help them find new accommodation but advised they should contact Arun District Council if they cannot find somewhere before March 6.

In an interview with this newspaper, Mr Grubb said: “It's really sad. We've had a number of years with a number of very nice tenants.

"Both myself and my wife have helped on a personal level. A lot of time and investment has gone in – it’s not just being a landlord.

"It's a shame our hand has been forced to end that. That's from a moral point of view and particularly from a business point of view as well.”

Mr Grubb said Arun District Council delivered ‘enforcement action just before Christmas’.

"We've owned the site for 27 years,” he said “We've regularised things and made things proper. We managed to get planning permission and a license.

"The council stipulated that the caravans on site must conform to British standards. They gave us a couple of years to bring them up to standard, which is not possible, due to economic reasons.

"You'd have to rip it apart and you wouldn't be left with much or we replace them. We haven't decided what to do yet.

"It's all come about fairly quickly. We had to initiate section 21 notices for 34 of our tenants. There are 38 caravans in that section but some are already vacant. Some had already been served notices for other different reasons."

Mr Grubb said the marina offices are open seven days a week and ‘we are happy to talk to anyone who needs assistance’ that they ‘can't already get from the council’.

He added: “We did notify the council a week before the notices went out to say they would be getting phone calls – and have been liaising with them closely since. We've tried to get as much information out of the council as possible, asking where we should direct these people.

“We are prepared to help anyone, as we stated in the letter, with things like references.

“It doesn't matter to us what type of tenant they are. We are happy to help with our knowledge and time.”

Arun District Council said its housing options service is ‘aware of the situation’ and has ‘engaged with’ the landlords ‘with a view to communicating directly with the affected residents’.

A spokesperson added: “Given national and local housing pressures, we are concerned about the impact this is going to have and we are looking to establish effective engagement with residents about their options and needs, to be able to provide appropriate support where we can.

"We have provided contact details via the Broomer Farm Group and would encourage anyone affected to contact us by email to [email protected] or 01903 737552 so that we can offer advice and assistance as appropriate.”

Father-of-two Mr Depass fears he won’t be able to continue seeing his children at weekends when he is made homeless.

"In three months time, I'm going to be homeless,” he said. “I don't really know what to do. With cost of living, I'm struggling to live as it is. Now I've got nowhere to live as well.

"I'm on my own but I have two kids I look after at the weekend. I won't be able to see my kids until I get a house.

"These days, it's so hard to get a house. I can't afford to get one just like that. It's not easy.

“I do hope the council help as much as they can.”

Mr Grubb confirmed that ‘full deposits will be returned’ to tenants as long as: “They adhere to their tenancy contract, ensure rent and bills are up to date and the caravan is returned as per their itinerary when they moved in, appreciating fair wear and tear.”

He also revealed that no plans have been confirmed for the future of the site.

"That’s still to be decided,” Mr Grubb said. “There's a few people coming up with stories but with the time we've had and the scale of the situation, there’s nothing concrete. There's various ideas.

"It's a massive cost to us just to remove the units, let alone put anything else there.

“Questions have been asked and rightfully so by the tenants. We haven't decided what we are going to do it. We are going to take stock ourselves.”