New café in memory of baby who died 'preventable' Glan Clwyd death
GREEDYZ will be based at unit two of Imperial Buildings on Station Road (next door to Bobcats Coffee, and at the former site of Eateasy).
It is hoping to open in the next few weeks, and will be run by the mother and grandmother of Lucas Munslow, from Flint, who died at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Bodelwyddan of bacterial meningitis six years ago.
The café has been named after Greedy the Gorilla, a children's character of Haven Holidays – he was a personal favourite of Lucas', who visited Haven Hafan y Môr Holiday Park often.
Kimberley Munslow, Lucas' mum, said: 'We've had a lot of work to do to it – paying for wiring, decorating… we were meant to have opened at the beginning of the year, but it's taken us a lot longer.
Parents Nathan and Kimberley Munslow with Lucas (Image: Family handout) 'Hopefully, we'll open in the next couple of weeks – we just to need finish the kitchen area off, and then we'll be good to go.'
Helping Kimberley at the café will be her mother-in-law, Mandy, who previously ran Station View Café in Colwyn Bay.
She added: 'I've never done anything like this before. It's in memory of Lucas, because he loved Greedy the Gorilla; he was mesmerised by him.
'We're going to start with doing breakfasts, but we're hoping to also open in the evenings for fish and chips, curries, steaks and more.
'There's been a hell of a lot of work to do, so I'm looking forward to it opening – I just can't wait for it to be finished.'
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Rhyl Journal
17 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
New café in memory of baby who died 'preventable' Glan Clwyd death
GREEDYZ will be based at unit two of Imperial Buildings on Station Road (next door to Bobcats Coffee, and at the former site of Eateasy). It is hoping to open in the next few weeks, and will be run by the mother and grandmother of Lucas Munslow, from Flint, who died at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Bodelwyddan of bacterial meningitis six years ago. The café has been named after Greedy the Gorilla, a children's character of Haven Holidays – he was a personal favourite of Lucas', who visited Haven Hafan y Môr Holiday Park often. Kimberley Munslow, Lucas' mum, said: 'We've had a lot of work to do to it – paying for wiring, decorating… we were meant to have opened at the beginning of the year, but it's taken us a lot longer. Parents Nathan and Kimberley Munslow with Lucas (Image: Family handout) 'Hopefully, we'll open in the next couple of weeks – we just to need finish the kitchen area off, and then we'll be good to go.' Helping Kimberley at the café will be her mother-in-law, Mandy, who previously ran Station View Café in Colwyn Bay. She added: 'I've never done anything like this before. It's in memory of Lucas, because he loved Greedy the Gorilla; he was mesmerised by him. 'We're going to start with doing breakfasts, but we're hoping to also open in the evenings for fish and chips, curries, steaks and more. 'There's been a hell of a lot of work to do, so I'm looking forward to it opening – I just can't wait for it to be finished.'
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Grandfather left £45k out of pocket after purchasing a caravan from Haven Holidays – ‘the worst decision I've ever made'
A GRANDFATHER has been left £45,000 out of pocket after purchasing a caravan from Haven Holidays. Despite the vehicle being worth less than £15,000, spiralling costs have left him saying "it's the worst decision I've ever made". 3 3 Christopher Jeff, 60, bought the caravan in 2023 in Doniford Bay holiday park, Somerset in 2023. He and his wife Ida, 56, had first visited 13 years ago before deciding to put some of his pension money towards the vehicle when they visited with their grandson Theo two years ago. He told BPM Media: "We knew we couldn't afford a brand new caravan but we found what we thought was a nice one that was a bit older for £14,859. "I had to cash in a good chunk of my pension to pay for the caravan. "I thought it would be worth it for some family holidays away from the rat race." The old caravan quickly began racking up additional costs, as Christopher spent more than £10,000 refitting the caravan he purchased as a leaseholder from Haven Holidays. This included kitting the vehicle out with a microwave, fridge freezer and bedding - costing around £5,000. On top of these costs, the couple were "encouraged" to buy side decking, a storage box and a bench, all of which came to just under £5,000. Even the ground rent - a fee paid by leaseholders to freeholders - was more than Christopher and Ida expected. This added another £6,000 in annual fees - a cost that has since gone up to £8,161. Haven Holidays say that the purchase and license agreement clearly states the total site fees, the basis for fee increases, and the period the park is open. Christopher says that Haven Holidays advised the couple to rent out the caravan to help cover their growing expenses. However, in order to cover the thousands of pounds in ground rent, the caravan would need to be rented out every single week of the season for £450. This was made even more difficult by the fact that Haven Holidays were reportedly offering cheaper rents on their own caravans. Christopher said: "Haven were undercutting us by renting their own caravans cheaper all season long - sometimes £150 for a week in the off season." As a result, the couple only managed to rent the caravan out for five weeks in 2024. With much of the annual cost unaccounted for, Ida's income from working in sales was used to cover the shortfall. Christopher estimates that the caravan costs £1,500 a day of use in real terms, as 30 days onsite has cost the couple £45,000. He said: "It's just too expensive to own one of these units. We have only holidayed in it for ten long weekends." The couple faced further financial insecurity after a national grid failure damaged a lot of electrical appliances at the park, leading them to be told their boiler would need replacing. However, after three months and three visits from contractors, they were eventually told they didn't need any repairs as they had a water heater, not a boiler. A spokesperson for Haven Holidays say that they worked "as quickly as possible" to fix issues and that this was at no cost to Mr Jeff. The costs have become so unbearable that the couple has tried to sell the caravan - but this too would lose them money. While they paid nearly £15,000 for the vehicle, they are yet to receive an offer for more than £3,000, with Haven Holidays taking a 15% commission of any sales. Mr Jeff said: "Nobody wants to buy a caravan and take on the commitment of paying over £8,000 for nine months of caravan access. "Especially when you can't rent it out and break even because its cheaper for guests to go directly through Haven." In a desperate bid to resolve their financial problems, they reached out to European Consumer Claims who have taken on the case with the hopes of getting the couple their money back. CEO of ECC Greg Wilson said: "When we first started looking into holiday park consumer abuse we were aware that there were issues. However the sheer scale of wrongdoing was shocking even to us." The company is working with leading consumer lawyers to seek financial compensation for people who have been swindled by unexpected fees. Haven owns a number of holiday parks around the UK, primarily found along the coastline, including in Yorkshire, the Lake District, Scotland and Cornwall. A Haven Holidays spokesperson said: "Haven is committed to ensuring full transparency at every stage of the buying and selling process and clearly communicates with owners the different options available to them - including the total site fees for that year, the basis for subsequent increases and period the park is open during the year – as well as any associated terms and conditions. "The decking was installed at Mr. Jeffs' request; however, the other items mentioned (including the storage box, microwave, fridge freezer, bedding, and bench) were not purchased from Haven, and we are therefore unable to comment on them.'
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
I've been forced to sell my beloved caravan at a holiday park after Haven Holidays increased our rent by £5,000 - we only used it for ten weekends and I'm now £36,000 out of pocket
A grandfather has been left £36,000 out of pocket and forced to sell his holiday home in Somerset after the ground rent was increased by £5,000. Christopher Jeff and his wife, Ida, thought snapping up a caravan using a chunk of their pension would provide a lifetime of happy memories. But the couple were faced with a tough ultimatum; sell at a loss or continue drowning in mounting annual fees. The first year's ground rent was £3,127 - which they didn't realise was only a partial payment - and it has since increased to £8,161 which is more than half the cost of the entire caravan. It's left the retired couple at least £36,000 out of pocket. 'Being unable to pay the ground rent this year, we are in the position of needing to sell the caravan,' Christopher, from Bedworth, told Luxury Travel Daily. 'It's just too expensive to own one of these units. We have only holidayed in it for ten long weekends.' The former lorry driver first visited Haven Holidays' beachfront park, Doniford Bay, 13 years ago. They then returned with their grandson and out of curiosity, Christopher asked how much it'd be to own a caravan at the site before spending £14,859 on the secondhand holiday home. The grandad said: 'We knew we couldn't afford a brand new caravan, but we found what we thought was a nice one that was a bit older. 'I had to cash in a good chunk of my pension to pay for the caravan. I thought it would be worth it for some family holidays away from the rat race. 'We were told that we would be able to resell it back to the park, or we could resell it privately but pay the park 15 per cent. 'We had no intentions of reselling at that point, we wanted the holidays. What we didn't realise was how much all the other costs were going to be.' The couple forked out on a new microwave, fridge freezer and bedding, totalling £5,000. They claim to have been 'encouraged' to also pay out for new decking, costing £4,500, as well as a storage box, £300, and a bench for £120. A MailOnline graphic detailing the hidden costs of owning a static home (pictured) To cover the mounting annual costs, the Haven salesperson allegedly told the couple that they could rent out the holiday home privately. But to do so, they'd need to have someone staying in it every single week of the season for £450, including passes. He said: 'If we were using it some weeks ourselves, we would have to charge even more than that. 'Haven were undercutting us by renting their own caravans cheaper all season long - sometimes £150 for a week in the off-season. 'We managed to rent out for a few weeks [last year] - five in total - but my wife, Ida, is still working in sales and all of her commission was used up covering the shortfall in rent. 'Also the park is closed for three months. 'That's a quarter of the year we can't even advertise it for rent.' Christopher and Ida have tried to sell the caravan back to Haven, though they claim to have been told they have 'too much stock already and couldn't make an offer' unless they upgraded to a more expensive unit. The best offer they've had so far privately is £3,000 and with the added 15 per cent commission to pay the park on any private sales, they're looking at a gut-wrenching £12,450 loss. He added: 'Even that offer fell through due to the costs involved. 'Nobody wants to buy a caravan and take on the commitment of paying over £8,000 for nine months of caravan access. 'Especially when you can't rent it out and break even because it's cheaper for guests to go directly through Haven.' European Consumer Claims has been called in to help get the couple's money back. Greg Wilson, CEO, said: 'When we first started looking into holiday park consumer abuse, we were aware that there were issues. 'However, the sheer scale of wrongdoing was shocking, even to us.'
