Agenda and minutes

Councillor Chesters            Item 7 – personal interest as owned

                                             property next to a holiday caravan site.

·         North Devon was the only Local Authority in the South West who had police officers working in their authority, this arrangement enabled effective dialogue and meant community issues were raised with officers

·         Courier fraud was currently a prevalent criminal activity, and was usually initiated from a cold caller impersonating a police officer or bank official.  The reason for the call would be due to a ‘problem’ with the victim’s bank account and assistance with an ongoing police investigation was required by the victim. Any concerns about what someone was asking you to do should be shared with a family member to talk over why they were being asked to perform the task requested

·         It was good practice to question any phone call or email correspondence received

·         Neighbourhood alerts was a good way to stay informed.  Sign up took a few simple steps by visiting the Devon and Cornwall Police website to access the service

·         Recent criminal activity had affected two Devon residents to the sum of £10,000 each.  The neighbourhood alert gave information on how to keep safe and resources to link to for further information.  It was advised that if you were to suffer from fraud or a scam you should report it via the 101 service by phone or email: 101@devonandcornwall.pnn.police.uk

·         The Service Lead Community Safety Partnership Officer advised he would be able to present at Town or Parish Councils and would attend a future Parish Forum event

·         The number of internet users in the 16 – 44 age bracket was increasing

·         Due to the sheer volume of scam emails sent out it only needed a few victims to succumb for the scammers to be successful

·         Further resources available to help keep safe from fraudsters were listed as follows:

     (a) Think Jessica – www.thinkjessica.com/

     (b) Citizens Advice Bureau – www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

     (c) Which – https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/scams

     (d) Age UK – https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money- legal/scams-fraud/doorstep-scams/

·         It was worth remembering that if something seemed too good to be true, it usually was

·         Online scams were a faceless crime – one would never meet the person responsible

·         As a priority, scams were not high on the list for the Safer Devon partnership.  Not to say there was no interest in the matter just that County Lines, Modern Slavery took precedence

·         Getting the message out to the community about staying safe needed constant work

·         A number of Bitesize Briefings had been delivered and covered topics of interest, these were usually around an hour to an hour and a half in length and were useful for highlighting areas of concern and what could be done to stay safe.  The presentations were given by experts and particularly useful for members who came into contact with members of the public on a daily basis

·         The Public Health Act 1936 covered tents and if land was used for the pitching of tents for more of 28 days in a calendar year planning permission was required

·         If a site was used for more than 42 days consecutively or 60 days in total in any 12 months there was the need for a licence to be in place

·         Section 269 of the Act created the need for a licence

·         A tent licence would contain conditions designed to protect people using the site

·         Conditions were based on national model standards in relation to site layout, fire precautions, and sanitary facilities etc. and could be varied or removed at any time in relation to change in circumstances

·         There were two main types of Caravan Site licence; residential sites and sites used for holiday purposes only

·         The legislation which covered caravan sites was as follows:

(a)  Mobile Homes Act 2013

(b)  The Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960

(c)  Caravans Sites Act 1968

(d)  Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

·         In addition there were model conditions:

(a)  Model Standard Conditions Residential Parks 2008

(b)  Model Standard Conditions Holiday Parks 1989

·         A clear pre-requisite to be able to issue a licence was that Planning Permission was already in place

·         The definition of a caravan was given at section 29 of the Caravan and Sites and Control of Developments Act 1960 and was given as; any structure designed or adapted for human habitation capable of being moved from one place to another (whether  by being towed or  by being transported on a motor vehicle or trailer) or any motor vehicle so designed or adapted but does not include; rolling stock on a railway system or any tent

·         The act was amended by Section 13 of the Caravan Sites Act 1968 to give guidance on twin units and maximum dimensions for units being 20 metres in length, 6.8 metres wide and 3.05 metres in height

·         This definition does cover motor homes

·         The definition of a caravan site was given at Section 1 (4) of the Caravan Sites and Control of Developments Act 1960 and reads as follows; “Land on which a caravan is stationed for the purpose of human habitation and land which is used in conjunction with land on which a caravan is so stationed”

·         Tent sites were not necessarily aware that motor homes were caravans, without the Local Authority enforcing or promoting the regulations this would have gone unchecked

·         Work was ongoing in-house to set up an electronic means of processing and storing applications made, this would ensure progress of applications was tracked

·         If a residential site had a residents association the Local Authority must consult with them as a stakeholder as well as the residents of the site.  The site owner must also ensure engagement with residents was carried out

·         In the law a residential park home was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

·         Due to the General Election and the period of purdah the meeting scheduled for November 2019 had been cancelled.

·         The next meeting was to take place on Friday 31^st January 2020 in Plymouth.