ANXIETY is growing among caravan park residents in Stourport who are waiting for support with their energy bills.

Those living at Walshes Caravan Park are not eligible for the government’s £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme this Winter, with monthly payments beginning to roll out to UK homes now.

However, park home residents across the country will be entitled to receive support equivalent to this scheme, according to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

But a lack of details on when and how extra help will be delivered is causing concern and confusion among residents. Many residents live at the site full-time. 

Some are frustrated that they are not eligible for the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount, despite paying council tax.

Caravan park resident Dave Aston, aged 62, said pensioners living on the site are “very worried.”

“We haven’t had any notification from anyone,” he said.

“There’s been nothing coming towards us from the government or the council.

“OAPs are very scared they are not going to be able to heat their homes.”

“40 per cent of the people on this park are full-time”.

54-year-old Richard Street said: “I cannot see how it can be justified.

“It’s just really frustrating. I live there full-time.

“It’s like a proper kick in the teeth”.

Support worker Julie Cooke, aged 57, lives at the holiday park with her partner.

She said: “We are more or less paying what everybody else’s paying who lives in houses”.

Derek Slotta added: “We pay council tax and live on the site but they class us as non-residential.

“I find this totally unfair”.

A spokesperson for the Walshes Caravan Park said they also feel “in the dark” about plans to financially help residents, and are waiting for further guidance from the government.

A BEIS spokesperson said: “Households not on standard gas or electricity contracts, including park home residents, will receive support equivalent to both the Energy Price Guarantee, which limits what households can be charged, and the Energy Bills Support Scheme, which provides a £400 rebate to billpayers.

“The Government is working at pace to determine the most practical way of delivering this support. Further details will be announced shortly.”