Agenda item

Report by Environmental Health Officer (attached).

The Committee considered a report by the Environmental Health Officer (circulated previously) regarding the Residential Park Home Sites, Fees and Licensing and Compliance Policies.

The Environmental Health Officer highlighted the following:

·         The main purpose of the report was to provide feedback on the results of the six-week consultation exercise, and to seek recommendation for approval to Full Council regarding a new set of fees for residential caravan site licences, contained in a Fees Policy and to approve a Policy on the Licensing and Compliance of Residential Park Home Sites.

·         The Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 (as amended by the Mobile Homes Act 2013) (the Act), authorises Local Authorities to issue licences in respect of caravan sites.  The Council may require applications for ‘relevant protected sites’ (more commonly referred to as residential park homes sites licences) to be accompanied by a fee fixed by the Authority.  Fees may also be charged for applications to transfer site licences, to change conditions on site licences, and to deposit site rules with the Authority.  Separate fees may also be charged for enforcement and Local Authorities may charge for the administration and monitoring of site licences by levy of an annual fee.

·         The fees for caravan site licensing were ‘locally set’, meaning that fees were not prescribed by statute.  The Council had yet to approve fees since April 2014, when the amendments to the Act became effective, and it was now necessary to adopt a fees policy to ensure that the Council better recovered its costs.

·         A draft copy of the Fees Policy and the Policy on the licensing and Compliance of Residential Park Home Sites was presented to the Strategy and Resources Committee of 4 December 2023, and a consultation on the proposed implementation of the policies was subsequently approved.

·         The six-week consultation exercise ran between 22 January 2024 to 4 March 2024.

·         Correspondence with details of the consultation was sent to site owners, residents Associations (where known), the general public (via social media release), the British Holiday and Home Parks Association, and the National Association of Park Home Residents.

·         14 online responses were  received in total.  The full results could be seen at Appendix C of the report.

·         9 respondents agreed with the banding structure of the fees policy proposed, and 5 respondents disagreed.  5 respondents left further feedback in respect of this question.

·         9 respondents agreed that the fees policy was clear and concise and 5 respondents disagreed.  1 respondent left further feedback in relation to this question.

·         9 respondents agreed that the Council’s Policy on the Licensing and Compliance of Residential Park Home Sites was clear and concise, and 5 respondents disagreed.  1 respondent left further feedback in relation to this question.

·         8 respondents agreed with the principle of the two new policies, and 6 respondents disagreed.  3 respondents left further feedback in relation to this question.

·         It was necessary to clarify the Council’s position with regards to site licence compliance.  The Policy on the Licensing and Compliance of Residential Park Homes Sites had been designed to support the Fees Policy.  It set out how this licensing regime was to be administered and regulated, and provided enhanced transparency and robustness in respect of the Council’s licensing procedures.

The report was welcomed by Councillor Wilkinson.

RESOLVED to note the feedback of the public consultation exercise, as seen at Appendix C of the report, and;

RECOMMENDED for adoption of the following by Full Council:

(a)  The Residential Park Homes Fees Policy; and

(b)  The Licensing and Compliance of Residential Park Home Sites Policy.