Caravan and camp site licences
How do I apply for a licence?
Once planning permission has been obtained you will be required to apply for a licence.
A fee is payable for the inspection and licensing of residential caravan sites (park homes). Please see the Mobile Homes Act section of our current Fees and charges document for full details.
As part of the application process you will be required to successfully apply for the Fit and Proper Person register which will expire after five years, and a new application will be required.
Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person
The Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020 (hereafter 'the Regulations) prohibit the use of land as a residential mobile home site unless the local authority is satisfied that the owner or manager of the site is a fit and proper person to manage the site.
The purpose of the fit and proper person test is to improve the standards of park (mobile) home site management.
What does this mean for site owners?
From 1 October 2021, unless the site is exempt, the site owner must either:
- be a fit and proper person to lawfully operate a park home site
- have a fit and proper site manager in place.
What must a site owner do?
Site owners operating a relevant site must apply (themselves or their appointed manager) to be included in the local register of fit and proper persons to manage a site.
Definition of exempt sites
A site is exempt if it's "a non-commercial family occupied site". This is either:
- a site only occupied by members of the same family
- a site not being run on a commercial basis
What we consider
To be happy that the relevant person is a fit and proper person to manage the site, and to add them to the register, we consider:
- past compliance with the site licence
- the long-term maintenance of the site
- whether the relevant person has sufficient level of competence to manage the site
- the management structure and funding arrangements for the site or proposed management structure and funding arrangements
We also consider whether the relevant person has:
- the right to work in the UK
- committed any offence involving fraud or other dishonesty, violence, arson, or drugs or listed in Schedule 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (offences attracting notification requirements)
- contravened any provision of the law relating to housing, caravan sites, mobile homes, public health, planning or environmental health or of landlord and tenant law
- contravened any provision of the Equality Act 2010 in, or in connection with, the carrying on of any business
- harassed any person in, or in connection with, the carrying on of any business
- has had an application rejected by any other local authority
- is, or has been within the past 10 years, personally insolvent
- is, or has been within the last 10 years, disqualified from acting as a company director
Please note
It is an offence under the Regulations if a site owner provides false, misleading information, or withholds information from a registration application.
If you cannot fully complete the online application form nor provide the supporting documentation we cannot continue with the application.
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