Caravan site licence

What this covers

You usually need a licence from your local council to have a caravan site on your land

It applies in England, Wales and Scotland. Other UK nations run their own regimes — check the equivalent for the nation you trade in.

Why you need it

This licence is not an administrative preference — it exists because Parliament created it. The power to require it comes from Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960.

What the Act carries

These are the duties, penalties and exemptions our graph holds for Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 as a whole — the Act behind this licence, not the licence conditions themselves. They show what sort of instrument you are dealing with.

Duties on businesses

14

Penalties

13

Exemptions

2

Duties on businesses under the Act

• Use land as a caravan site without a site licence s.1
• Fail to comply with caravan site compliance notice s.9B
• Fail to comply with site licence conditions s.9
• Fail to surrender site licence for alteration s.11
• Station caravan on common land in breach of council order s.23
• Consent, connive or neglect leading to company caravan site offence s.26A

… and 8 more business duties in the same Act.

What happens if you get it wrong

• Fail to comply with caravan site compliance notice Unlimited fine
• Use land as a caravan site without a site licence Unlimited fine
• Use caravan site without a Part 1A licence Fine up to £50,000
• Fail to comply with a Part 1A site licence condition Fine up to £10,000
• Fail to comply with improvement notice Fine up to £10,000

… and 8 more penalties in the same Act.

Exemptions that may take you outside it

• Fire safety rules separate from caravan site licence conditions — The caravan site land is subject to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (England & Wales) or Part 3 …
• Part 1A licence holders exempt from offence of using site without a licence — You hold a Part 1A site licence for the relevant permanent site and the use is of that site

Read our full dossier on Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960

Who issues it

Your local council issues this, acting as the licensing authority for the area you trade in. Councils apply the same statute but set their own fees, conditions and timescales, so two neighbouring authorities can reach you differently.

Where to apply

Our guidance on this

Everything below is written out in full elsewhere on Guvnor — this page points at it rather than repeating it.

Licences that often go with this one

Businesses in the same activities usually need one or more of these too.

Duty, penalty and exemption labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the enabling instrument, not the instrument itself. Fees, forms and conditions are set by the issuing authority — always check the linked source.

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