Felix Cash | How renovating caravans and mobile homes can help homelessness

Felix Cash talks about how his charitable support caravan park is helping provide safe and affordable housing to the people who need it most. Felix is proud to be giving back to those in need and shares how he’s done it.

Lack of social housing in Reading and Wokingham

In the UK there is an affordable housing crisis, more than ever, people are struggling to find a place to live that is safe and affordable.

Over a million households are on the waiting list to get social housing according to UK homelessness charity, Shelter. Many of these people get no indication of how or when they will receive any help from the government. This problem is only set to increase. In 2022, more than 29000 social houses were either demolished or sold off. But only 7000 new social houses were built. This is a drastic difference and is only going to lead to rising waiting lists and, more worryingly, a rise in homelessness.

Figures for just England alone reveal that over a million fewer families and households are socially housed than in 1980. This has led to people being forced into the private sector, where prices are spiralling upward. With landlords giving little compassion to their tenants, with many being unfairly evicted, and some being forced onto the streets.

In Reading this problem is more intense. Reading has the second-highest number of rough sleepers in the county of Berkshire. Over a quarter of the homeless people are immigrants from outside the UK. This problem is growing year by year. With nothing being done to help the situation, private property companies are helping to tackle the need for social housing in their own ways.

How Felix Cash wants to change that

The average rent in the UK currently stands at £1190, and that excludes London. The need for affordable housing within the surrounding area of London is needed more than ever. Every region of the UK has had a significant increase in the price of rent since the pandemic began in 2020.

The problem is only getting worse, with more people feeling the cost of living crisis, rent prices going up, and so many being pushed out of their homes. That is what Felix Cash and Phoenix Residential Homes Ltd are fighting to change.

St George’s Caravan Park in Wokingham (Reading) provides safe and affordable mobile home accommodation

Felix Cash developed the idea of a residential park homes site built and tailored specifically for people in Wokingham and the surrounding area of Reading, who are dealing with problems such as homelessness, low income or are struggling to find a safe place to live.

“I started St George’s Caravan Park because I wanted to put myself into a position to directly help the local people who are struggling and really need support”, says Mr Cash. “Helping those less privileged runs through everything we do at Phoenix Residential Homes Ltd.”

“It’s really important for me to give something back to the people struggling, I feel as if it’s my duty as a local businessman and long-term landowner. I’m proud that we’ve had such a successful outcome providing genuine residential support in the form of caravans and mobile homes in Wokingham.”

How Caravans and mobile homes can help the supply of affordable housing

Mr Cash and Phoenix Residential are very intent on ensuring that the site is comfortable, relaxed, safe, and the caravans stay affordable.

“St George’s Park is situated in the open countryside surrounded by woodland in the Nine Mile Ride district of Wokingham, near Reading,” explains Felix Cash. “There is a relaxed atmosphere and there are different accommodation solutions for people of all ages, backgrounds and circumstances, such as mobile homes and caravans. All the park homes are detached with their own outdoor space and there’s an on-site tenant office and emergency call-out service.”

“We have created a residential property site that is available to all and offers safety and security for people who really need the security of a place to call home. All of our staff live locally, so there is always somebody nearby if any of the tenants need anything. We also made sure that the park homes site was positioned for good travel connections and that all the correct planning regulations exist with Wokingham Council. The site is near the local train station and the roads provide excellent transport links to London and the rest of the country.”

“It’s important that our tenants can commute easily and can get to work when they need. The goal of the park is to give people safety, if they feel safe, they can thrive. Allowing people to get that first step on the property ladder is such an important part of keeping social housing affordable and available to all.”

About Felix Cash & Phoenix Residential Homes Ltd (Reading)

The park homes site was built and is operated and maintained by Phoenix Residential Homes Ltd, working alongside Wokingham Borough Council, to make that the site has all of the appropriate planning regulations and that the mobile homes stay affordable so that as many people as possible can feel the benefits of a secure place to live. The park homes site operates as a charitable living support facility, this means that there isn’t any profit taking and all of the money goes back into keeping the park maintained to a high standard and to keep the residents safe.

Felix Cash has worked hard obtaining planning regulations and developing land and the associated hard standing on the site to make it into the warm and welcoming environment it currently is today. Without the support of Wokingham Borough Council, it wouldn’t be possible to keep the site running and kept to the standards that were set from the outset.

Felix Cash is the founder and managing director of many property development companies such as Luxurylife Developments Ltd that own and run Fir Hill Park in Cornwall and Upper Abbots Royd Park in Yorkshire. Mr Cash is also the proud father of boxer Felix Cash, who has achieved European and Commonwealth titles and competed in bouts at the Copper Box Arena and the First Direct Arena.

The social housing crisis in the UK shows no sign of slowing down, It’s up to private property development companies and individuals like Felix Cash, and his company Phoenix Residential Homes, to help change the balance in favour of those that need the help. Private Companies have to give back and ease the problem or things are only going to get worse for the vulnerable.

Contact Felix Cash and his company Phoenix Residential Ltd for any more information

To find out more information about how Mr Cash and Phoenix Residential Homes are supporting the people struggling around Wokingham, head over to his website. If you want to support the caravan, mobile home, and park home site directly head over to their Facebook page.