Caravan Storage Case Study – Headon Farm

Can you give me a quick overview of Headon Farm Caravan Site & Storage?

We are a Cassoa Gold storage site with both outside and undercover storage which is all on hardstanding.  Our undercover sheds are bespoke for the storage of caravans/motorhomes/boats and offer premium storage conditions.  We are located on the Devon/Cornwall border just outside of Holsworthy in the beautiful Ruby Country.  In addition to our secure storage we have a peaceful family/dog friendly Touring Site with lawned grass and hardstanding pitches, all with wonderful views across the beautiful countryside.  Our Site won the AA Small Campsite of the Year in 2022/2023.  We are open all year giving clients access to their caravans whenever they wish to holiday.  Our storage and touring site are situated on our 100 acre farm which has been in the family for five generations.

How long have you been in business? What made you decide to go into caravan storage?

e started the storage and Touring Site 23 years ago, following losing our stock due to the Foot and Mouth disease outbreak which was devastating.  Friends of ours who stored their caravan on a farm in Sussex suggested we look into the possibility of a touring site and storage.  We started in a very small way with a Caravan Club CL site and 15 caravan storage spaces.  Since that time we have steadily grown and developed and improved our facilities and services.  We feel that out of something awful, something good happened, it has been a very positive and successful diversification for us.

How was the process of planning permission?

Obtaining planning permissions for the various developments of the business have been difficult and expensive.   We demonstrated that we were adding to the local economy, supporting many local businesses and after many delays we were successful in our applications.

What was the biggest challenge you had when developing the business?

There has always been the market to expand but we have found the support from the banks and district council challenging.

How many employees do you have?

Ours is a family business, we offer a personal service.  One of the best parts is getting to know our clients and they get to know us.  We have several clients who have been with us almost from the start and we love meeting new people and welcoming them to Headon.  We have been invited to clients parties, weddings and family celebrations.

What was your strategy when investing in the security for your site?

To prove the need and research the area.  Our bespoke, premium undercover storage has always proved very popular and today we offer more undercover pitches than outside pitches.  This has obviously meant a huge investment but we researched the demand prior to going ahead.

How often do you review your security provision?

Being inspected as part of the Cassoa organisation ensures our security is kept up to date.

What is your pricing strategy / structure?

We have always strived to be competitive and affordable.  We would prefer to charge reasonable fees and have occupied storage pitches rather than be expensive and empty.  Regarding the Touring Site we have priced our pitches to be reasonable as we believe there is no point in overcharging so storage clients can’t afford to stay in their caravan on our Site.  We have a very clear pricing strategy, a per pitch per night rate without lots of extras for children/dogs/awnings.

What is your new customer process?

For many years we have advertised in trade magazines, we feel this give clients a feeling of continuity of our business.   We also use social media and our Google reviews are a boost,  but the best advertising we have found is word of mouth which for us means clients are happy with what we are providing.

Have you seen a change in the market since you began trading?

Lots of the newer caravans have many more facilities requiring electricity so on our touring site we have upgraded our electricity supply.  Caravans have certainly got longer and wider in the past 20 years so we have built bigger sheds and wider outside storage spaces to accommodate them.

How does CaSSOA help your business?

Our clients know we have been inspected and it gives peace of mind as they know our storage is secure and well run.  For ourselves, we appreciate the industry support that Cassoa offers

Looking forward, what do you think will be your biggest challenge?

To continue to offer reasonable rates in the light of rising overheads, many of which are outside of our control.