David Coe, from Norfolk, spent a whopping £10k converting a caravan so he could live there in it. Sadly, he won’t get to live out his dream after an enforcement company demolished it
A man who transformed a 14ft caravan into a two-storey home has seen it bulldozed after making one silly mistake.
David Coe, from Norwich, Norfolk, forked out £10,000 towards the dream conversion after purchasing the motor home in 2022. He spent an entire year on the renovation project which included an upstairs bedroom, skylight and log burner.
The home caused divide between residents living in Bately Court, with some people branding it an “eyesore”. Meanwhile, others have taken a liking to the van, with “hundreds” of people stopping to look outside.
National Parking Enforcement, the company that manages the car park outside Bately Court, issued him a notice earlier this year. The owner was instructed to move the van over concerns about it being a health and safety risk. If he couldn’t move it he was told that it would be knocked down.
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But Mr Coe did not have enough money to have the structure professionally relocated and demolition crews finally arrived at the site to knock it down on July 17. It comes after he was evicted from Bately Court after a row with the housing association over the cleanliness and management of the property and was accused by the company of “inappropriate behaviour” towards members of staff.
He maintains he should not have been evicted and was forced to abandon the caravan when he left. Mr Coe said kept paying his £25 monthly fee for a parking spot and visited the vehicle regularly, to ensure it was kept secure and was not becoming a hazard.
He worked on renovating it as a distraction from his legal battle with the housing association and severe health issues. Mr Coe, who said he had “always been very creative” and previously renovated a hotel, said his caravan grew and grew, quickly becoming a familiar and welcome site in its parking spot.
He said it soon became something of a tourist attraction. The caravan was caught the attention of George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces expressing interest in featuring it on the Channel 4 programme. Mr Coe said: “I just needed to get out of the flat and make contact with other people.
“It was meant to be a place to sit and have a cup of tea and chat with passers-by. But it became something to focus on and I started working on it every single day. It became more than a hobby for me. It wasn’t a conscious decision but the caravan grew and grew – it cost me a fortune but I didn’t mind.
“I became known locally as the caravan man. I met hundreds of people who wanted to see what I was doing and take selfies with me. It was a lovely distraction from everything else.” Mr Coe built a staircase and extended the caravan to turn it into a two-storey structure, with a bedroom upstairs.
He also installed a log burner as well new windows and a skylight, and created a garden and seating area outside. He kept adding to it until the caravan was more akin to a tiny house. Mr Coe, who is unemployed and on disability benefits, said he was left with £70k in costs to pay after losing his legal battle.
He could not afford to finish the caravan, which needed further work to its roof and extensions to be made “more solid”. His former neighbour, Heather Burton said: “I’m happy to see it go because I thought it was a really dangerous thing to have in the car park. It easily could have hurt somebody in high winds. I can’t understand why this was allowed to stay in a prominent area for so long.”
Elaine Kelly commented: “It was a bit of an eyesore in the end but I feel sorry for the bloke who built it. It’s a shame it got so big that he couldn’t move it. There has been a lot of interest in the caravan and no end of people coming to look at it. People used to stop in the street and ask us about it.”
The National Parking Enforcement has been contacted for comment.