A COMPANY is being investigated for allegedly mis-selling pensioners residential homes after Christchurch Borough Council announced plans to evict them.

Tall Trees Park, at Matchams Lane at Hurn, only has planning permission for use as holiday accommodation, according to the council, which as previously reported issued enforcement letters to residents at the end of last year.

In a statement written to the Daily Echo, members of the Tall Trees Home Owner’s Association claimed they had been mis-sold their homes by Tall Trees Park - a trading division of South Coast Parks Ltd. The Daily Echo has, on several occasions, sought comment from South Coast Parks Ltd on the matter to no avail.

Ivan Hancock, Dorset County Council’s trading services manager, said: “Dorset County Council’s Trading Standards Service has been investigating several allegations of misleading claims made to some consumers when they were sold properties at Tall Trees Park. These are continuing. Some changes have already been made to websites selling these properties as a result.”

Residents have meanwhile filed applications with the council to change the land’s use in a bid to stay at their homes.

David Barnes, strategic director for Christchurch and East Dorset Councils, said: “We have received three applications so far and have been advised to expect two further applications. The applications are for Lawful Development Certificates, where the applicant claims use of the plot as a residence for over 10 years. These should take between four and eight weeks to decide. It is for the applicant to demonstrate clearly that the use has been residential and consistent throughout the 10 years. They are required to submit documents as evidence to illustrate residential occupancy to the address they claim sole or main residence, all of which we will consider when deciding the application.”

One resident, who asked not to be named, said: “The council is ultimately responsible. It’s been a complete and utter shambles. If we don’t get this change of use what will happen is we will have to sell up. This hasn’t been handled well at all by the council.”

'We were suckered in', say residents

TALL Trees park residents have said they will fight for their homes, describing it as “like a tiny village”.

The majority of the park’s homeowners are retirees in their 60s, 70s and 80s - some of whom claim have suffered severe bouts of ill health as a result of stress as the residents’ battle to stay. They say their lives have been turned upside down since receiving the enforcement notices. The Daily Echo understands that Christchurch council first became aware that units had been sold as residential plots back in 2009. Since then more and more homes have been sold by Tall Trees Park, a division of South Coast Parks Ltd.

One woman, who asked not to be named, said: “The people here are all good, hard-working honest people. There is always somebody you can rely on. We can’t begin to think what would happen to us if we had to go somewhere else.”

She said she feels that the retirees who make up those affected are being preyed upon and not one of them would be able to sell their homes.

“We were gullible and we were naive but we were suckered in,” she said. “But these are our homes. We love the homes and the community. Every bit of this is going to cost huge amounts of money and people here are living on their pensions.”