The homes of people living on a mobile home site near Fakenham are to be sold.

Councillors on North Norfolk District Council's cabinet voted unanimously to sell off Parklands, off Green Lane, at Pudding Norton.

Eastern Daily Press: The decision to sell the Parklands site at Pudding Norton was made in March 2020The decision to sell the Parklands site at Pudding Norton was made in March 2020 (Image: Google)

But the buyer or price of the 4.7-acre site - which is more than 50 years old and includes 38 pitches rented for year-round mobile homes - has not been revealed.

The meeting, at the council's Holt Road, Cromer headquarters on Monday, heard a Mr McEwan speak on behalf of the park's residents, pointing out that while the council was "duty-bound" to obtain the best value, that would not necessarily come from the highest bidder.

He said: "We ask you from the bottom of our hearts, please choose wisely for us."

Eric Seward, portfolio holder for finance and assets, said he was "acutely aware" of the challenges mobile home parks could present.

Mr Seward said: "When these sites are well-managed they are secure homes for the individuals concerned. When they are not so well managed and things start to go wrong they can cause enormous heartache and problems for the residents concerned."

Mr Seward said he believed the new owners would properly manage the site.

Parklands was retained by the council when the adjacent housing was transferred to Victory Housing Trust in 2006.

The council received an unsolicited offer from a mobile home operator in 2018, and the authority then did an assessment about what to do with the site.

They decided owning and operating the park was not part of the council's core services, given that improvement work would need to be done there.

The councils' report says: "It was recognised that if the site was to be retained, whilst not financially viable, further investment would be required, particularly in relation to improvements to the laundry block and road infrastructure."

Residents were told of the planned sale in July last year, and some of them approached the council wishing to buy their own plots, buy the whole site as a collective or manage it on behalf of the council.

But the site was advertised in September and 10 bidders came forward - nine wanting to buy the park and the other preferring to lease and mange it.