26 February 2026
Omar Group rises to the challenge
As a park home weaves its way through the heart of the capital
Bella Brodie reports
Following the Holiday & Residential Park Association’s (HARPA) 2026 conference news, we thought we’d take a little look behind the scenes at the logistics behind showcasing a park home in the heart of Westminster, and how the Omar Group rose magnificently to the challenge of making it all happen.
We were in on the scheduled undercover manoeuvres during the planning process, so I was lucky enough to be ‘on the spot’ for the exciting end stage of the journey as the home arrived at its destination; the QEII Exhibition Centre, where it was to stand proudly on the forecourt ready for visiting MP’s to find out more about the park home lifestyle. It could hardly have been a more striking position and our excitement reached somewhat of a fever pitch as we heard it was on the final leg, knowing it would shortly be passing notable landmarks such as the London Eye, crossing Westminster Bridge, past Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, around Parliament Square and ‘landing’ adjacent to the magnificent Westminster Abbey’s front buttress. It may have been pouring with rain in the dark of night and freezing cold, but we were brimming with excitement and almost oblivious to the weather at the thought of such an unusual sight on its way to the heart of London to represent our industry.
The planning began in the Autumn of 2025. Clara Baillie-Lane, Group Head of Marketing for the Omar Group reflects; “When we were approached to display a park home outside the Holiday and Residential Parks Association Conference in Westminster, I was 100% for it straight away. What an incredible opportunity to get in front of MP’s and promote the park and leisure home lifestyle, not just for Omar but for the industry as a whole. It wasn’t easy, and there were a lot of obstacles to overcome, but as a team we did it, and the feedback has made it all really worthwhile.”
THE LOGISTICS
The journey wasn’t a simple one at all, as you would expect when bringing a low loader with a complete home on its ‘back’ through some of the busiest streets of London and a hub for tourists who must surely have done a bit of a double take as they spotted it.
It took three hauliers to make it happen due to Transport for London’s complex traffic rules and requirements, so multiple teams were all pulling together to work as one large collaborative effort to transport the park home from Omar’s Brandon headquarters to the destination. Titans Siting and Transport, Lymers Assist and Callingtons Construction Ltd were all part of this skilled team, with UK Sundecks and Dress Pack Solutions pitching in overnight to help Omar’s own marketing and events team work their magic to get it ready to receive visitors the next morning.
Clara Baillie-Lane and her apprentice Leo Johnson co-ordinated the technical teams both at the Omar end during planning and throughout the event, so although they usually like to be behind the cameras for any Omar news, they were key to the project’s success, and I asked them to step in front of the camera on this occasion. They travelled with the home in the escort vehicles on its earlier stages, separating from the convoy in the final stage to ensure the reception team was in place and ready. She continued; “This home had a more eventful journey than most, and certainly more eventful than we had hoped for – they were held up by accidents, diversions, a malfunction and a heated protest with a vast number of police at Trafalgar Square, but made it to the QEII Exhibition Centre in time for the HARPA Conference, albeit two hours later than planned, which then cut our preparation time down on site, although to be fair our Westminster taskforce was ready to work through the night as long as was needed to make sure it was ready in time. It’s not unusual for transport and siting teams to face challenges, but thankfully they are more than adept at coping with them.”
ABOUT THE HOME
The home was a single unit version of the Newmarket park home, but with a Regency interior and it was so popular with park delegates at the conference that we can see this entering the range in due course. Not only was it a bit of an eye-opener to many of the MP’s and speakers who toured it, but it also gave them a good opportunity to ask lots of questions. Working alongside Omar’s Technical Director Lee Pearce and the wider Omar Group team we were kept quite busy answering the myriad of questions raised as they each toured the home. Some were unsure of the differences between park and holiday homes and the build values, others were impressed that they couldn’t hear the traffic outside, and park owners were able to explain some of the industry’s challenges to them, especially where there were legislative or budgetary issues likely to be dealt with by parliament in the future. Key comments heard several times were along the lines of ‘It’s much nicer than I had expected; I’d be happy to live in this myself; it’s better than most people’s houses’, so it was reassuring to hear that the perceptions of park homes from decades ago is well and truly countered by current park home design and build standards – of course, regular readers will already know that they are more like luxury apartments!
It was also lovely to see other manufacturers congratulating Omar on the model choice; a real demonstration of how the industry works together as if it is one big family at times. Other expert industry comments included that the décor would appeal to most buyers, that it was a great example home to bring, it demonstrated great use of space and that it felt wider than 12ft inside.
OUR FAVOURITE COMMENT – IT’S A TARDIS!
One particular comment that we felt was quite apt from a conference delegate was that it was like a Tardis landing in central London – it appeared overnight as if by magic, and when you stepped inside it felt much bigger than it looked. Unfortunately for the transport team it wasn’t quite as simple as pressing a button and hearing the whoosh of Dr Who music kick in as it teleported from one location to another, although that might have been handy!
DELIVERING ON OBJECTIVES
The home gave MP’s the opportunity of stepping straight from Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons Chamber, into an affordable housing solution option where buyers could become part of a like-minded community. It also raised awareness of the benefits the park home lifestyle offers such as fast build times, energy efficiency, low maintenance living, single storey accessible housing and the differences between residential and leisure homes – the latter a particularly hot topic in the industry.
One of the many MP’s showing their support through attendance was Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy, MP for West Suffolk, which covers Omar’s Brandon base. He had also visited Omar to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing local firms and toured the manufacturing site, commenting “I was bowled over by the scale and professionalism on the Omar Homes site.” At times the home was so popular that it did almost look like a challenge to see how many people could form a party to fit into a park home at once, and we are pleased to report that it ‘hoovered’ them all up rather efficiently, so plenty of meaningful discussions were able to take place in relative comfort.
AN AWARD FOR OMAR
During the HARPA conference, their Chairman Ian James presented Omar’s CEO Graeme Craig with a vote of thanks and a Support Award, which he accepted on behalf of all of the Omar team. Graeme said; “We have a fabulous team, and I’d like to thank them all for going above and beyond the call of duty to make it all happen.”
Our congratulations also go to Omar on the award. They frequently make significant contributions to the broader sector, often working discreetly and without recognition, which is exactly why we were pleased to have the opportunity to report on this story and award. What was clear from speaking to a cross section of attendees that Omar’s contribution to this year’s conference helped promote the park and leisure home sector in a way which generated a wealth of useful discussion and positivity, so we were thrilled to be there to see that happen!
