Site licences
Planning and mobile homes
Before you can apply to operate a caravan site you must hold planning permission for the development of the site and must also comply with any conditions set.
Once the original planning permission for the use of the land has been granted, the management for the development of mobile homes is passed directly to our mobile home licensing officers. They use mobile home legislation to make park life as safe, happy and relaxed as possible.
Mobile home residents must also play their part – for unlike ‘bricks and mortar’, mobile homes are not subject to permitted development and must remain mobile and within the realms of the formal definition of a 'caravan'.
Definition of a caravan or mobile home
The term caravan (also referred to as a mobile home) legally includes:
- homes which can be towed behind cars
- motor homes
- static holiday homes
- the more modern residential park homes, which often arrive on site in 2 sections and are then bolted together.
The Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 prohibits the use of land for a mobile home site unless the site owner holds a site licence issued by Medway Council.
The 1960 act states 'caravan' means any structure designed or adapted for human habitation which is capable of being moved from one place to another (whether by being towed, or by being transported on a motor vehicle or trailer) and any motor vehicle so designed or adapted.
The Caravan Sites Act 1968 states for the purposes of Part I of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, the expression 'caravan' must not include a structure designed or adapted for human habitation which falls within paragraphs (a) and (b) of the foregoing PART III subsection if its dimensions when assembled exceed any of the following limits:
- length (exclusive of any drawbar): 60 feet (18.288 metres)
- width: 20 feet (6.096 metres)
- overall height of living accommodation (measured internally from the floor at the lowest level to the ceiling at the highest level): 10 feet (3.048 metres).
Eligibility
To be eligible for a licence, the site owner must hold the necessary planning permission to use the land as a mobile home park.
Licences will not be issued to those who have had a previous site licence revoked, within 3 years, before any new application. We may also need to agree terms for the transfer of an existing licence to a new licensee.
How to apply for a site licence
To apply for a site licence, send us details of:
- the land: the hectarage of the licenced area
- who will be managing the site
- the number of units to be managed.
Email the above details to mobilehomes.enquiries@medway.gov.uk.
View the register of site licences.
Fees policy
The Mobile Homes Act 2013 marked the government’s commitment to giving better rights and protection to park home owners, while ensuring that honest professional site owners can flourish.
As part of the changes a new licensing scheme came into force on 1 April 2014 that enables local councils to monitor site licence compliance more effectively. Councils can now take enforcement action where owners are not managing and maintaining their sites and its services.
This will ensure residents’ health and safety are better protected and the value of their homes safeguarded.
In summary, from 1 April 2014 local authorities will be able to charge fees for:
- considering applications for the issue or transfer of a site licence
- considering applications for altering conditions in a site licence
- administration and monitoring of site licences.
There is an annual fee for administration and monitoring of licences.
Where a local council charges fees, these must be published in its fees policy document and must be transparent and reasonable.
Updated fees policy
The Medway Council fee policy will be published here in October 2022. This policy will cover fees for the annual invoice of 1 January 2023.
It will include details of fees for:
- new licence applications
- existing licence applications
- variation of licence applications
- penalty licence applications
- register park rules fees
- park file administration fees.