A retired park home owner has revealed that escalating living costs and soaring inflation could force him back to work to help make ends meet.
Andrew Peel, 64, fears his energy bills could rise from £160 to nearly £400 each quarter and worries fees to live on the site will be hiked up significantly.
Scotland’s park home owners have been excluded from financial support to meet energy costs because they pay their electricity bills directly to the site owner, who is then responsible for dealing with energy companies.
Residents also pay a ground payment to the site owner to allow them to live there.
But in Scotland, these fees are tied to the retail price index (RPI), which Mr Peel is concerned could hit 15%.
Residents at Rosebank Park Homes in Leuchars, Fife, claim they have been ignored by both Holyrood and Westminster as they prepare for the double shock.
Mr Peel, who is secretary of Rosebank’s residents association, said: “It’s the first time I’ve had to think about how much water I put in the kettle.
“We’re already cutting back on things like that.
“I never thought I’d see these kinds of prices.”
‘I never thought I’d see these prices’
He added: “I’m retired, but I’m thinking about taking up a part-time job to be able to cover the cost of the fuel rise.
“My wife and I have already talked about looking around the house for anything we don’t need, and we’re going to go to a car boot sale and sell it.
“Depending on what happens, if we have to, we’ll give up our Sky package and anything that’s not essential.
“We’ll have to look at how bad things get.”
Mr Peel said park home owners’ worries would be eased if ground rent was instead tied to the customer price index (CPI), the more common metric for inflation.
The UK Government has committed to linking park rental rises in England to CPI in the future, but Mr Peel believes he has been ignored by the SNP.
He said: “There was no mention of what they’ll do for park homes.
“Our park home owner was contacted by the power company, because even the power company doesn’t know how it’s going to work.”
Fife Lib Dem MP Wendy Chamberlain called on both Holyrood and Westminster to act.
She said: “The cost of living crisis is biting but residents in park homes are finding themselves exposed at every turn.
“The Scottish Government should copy their counterparts in England and commit to linking pitch fees to the lower CPI rate of inflation.
“The UK Government also need to make sure that those who live in park homes are getting the benefit of the UK Government’s energy support payment.
“It is not a huge sum of money but it could make a huge difference to families who are struggling to get by.”
Both the Scottish and UK Government were approached for comment.