Caravan Site

The Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 defines a ‘caravan site’ as:

‘…land on which a caravan is stationed for the purposes of human habitation and land which is used in conjunction with land on which a caravan is so stationed’.

In essence, this means that land becomes classified as a caravan site as soon as a caravan is brought onto it, regardless of the land’s intended use.

The Caravan Sites Act 1968, on the other hand, outlines its purpose as “An Act to restrict the eviction from caravan sites of occupiers of caravans and make other provision for the benefit of such occupiers; to secure the establishment of such sites by local authorities for the use of gipsies and other persons of nomadic habit, and control in certain areas the unauthorised occupation of land by such persons; to amend the definition of “caravan” in Part I of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.”

In 2019, the Scottish Statutory Instrument Order amended the definition of caravan in Section 13(2) of the Caravan Sites Act 1968 (“the 1968 Act”) to include twin-unit structures. “Section 13 (twin-unit caravans) of the 1968 Act exempts from the meaning of “caravan” in Part 1 of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 twin-unit structures designed or adapted for human habitation. These structures consist of not more than two sections separately constructed and designed to be assembled on site by bolts, clamps, or other devices. When assembled, they are physically capable of being moved by road from one place to another, and their dimensions exceed specified measurements.”