Caravan Sites And Control Of Development Act 1960

The Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, UK legislation, governs the licencing and regulation of caravan sites. It was enacted following a 1959 report by Sir Arton Wilson, which identified unclear and insufficient laws regarding individuals residing in caravans and highlighted the lack of authority for local councils to address caravan housing issues.

The Act mandates that individuals seeking to use land as a caravan site must obtain a licence from the local borough or district council. The council holds the authority to refuse, revoke, or impose conditions on the licence as necessary.

Defined within the Act, a ‘caravan site’ encompasses ‘…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.’ Consequently, land becomes classified as a caravan site upon the arrival of a caravan, irrespective of its initial use.

Furthermore, the Act permits homeowners to utilise their land as a caravan site if such use is ‘…incidental to the enjoyment as such of a dwelling house within the curtilage of which the land is situated.’

As stipulated by the Act, individuals may use land as a caravan site under the following conditions:

• They stay on the land for a maximum of two consecutive nights.
• Only one caravan intended for human habitation is present on the land.
• The land is not used as a caravan site for more than 28 days within a 12-month period.

Updates to the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 include the Caravan Sites Act 1968, The Caravan Sites Act 1968 (Amendment of Definition of Caravan) (Scotland) Order 2019, and The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development, etc.) (England) (Amendment) Order 2023.