Licensing of Caravan Sites in Scotland - An Analysis of Consultation Responses

4. PROPOSAL 3 - DURATION OF A SITE LICENCE

4.1 The Scottish Government considers that granting of indefinite length licences would not aid effective regulation of the industry - Proposal 3 related to the duration of a site licence and invited views on the most appropriate renewal period. Consistency with other licensing and registration regimes would suggest a requirement to renew every 3 years. At this point the fit and proper person declaration would also have to be renewed.

4.2 More specifically, the change would mean that all current licence holders would be required to apply for a new licence, although they would have a period of up to two years to make that new application and meet any conditions attached to the granting of a new licence.

Question 10:

What do you believe would be an appropriate renewal period for a site licence?

4.3 This proposal divided respondents.While many respondents agreed with the proposition that a licence should have to be renewed every 3 years, others expressed considerable concerns.

4.4 Analysis of comments made at Question 10 suggests that around 75 respondents (including all standard text respondents) support a 3 year renewal period. When respondents gave supporting reasons, these tended to focus on comparability to other licensing regimes. The other suggested renewal periods, along with the number of respondents suggesting it were:

• Up to a maximum of 2 years (1 respondent);
• 5 years (2 respondents);
• 10 years (4 respondents); and
• 25 years (1 respondent).

4.5 The possibility of extending the licencing period (perhaps to 5 years) for applicants with a track record of operating a well-run site was also suggested by some respondents.

4.6 However, a number of respondents expressed considerable concerns about any fixed period being applied to licences. Many of these respondents were site owners and holiday site owners in particular, and submitted letters (often referring to the response of the BH&HPA response) rather than a standard consultation form^[12].

Question 11:

Do you perceive any difficulties in requiring all existing licence holders to reapply for a site licence?

4.7 The majority of respondents (65 out of the 96 respondents who answered Question 11) could not see any difficulties in requiring all existing licence holders to reapply for a site licence. However, it should be acknowledged that the group of site owner respondents who did not wish to see any renewal period (as set out above in paragraph 4.6) did not answer this specific question. Had they done so, it seems likely that they would have expected there to be difficulties.

Table 16

Question 11 - Total Responses

Table 17

Question 11 - Group Responses by Type of Respondent

4.8 As noted earlier, a number of respondents expressed concerns that any site licence should last for only a 'fixed period' and these tended to be industry respondents (either industry bodies or site owners). The issues raised by these respondents focussed on the continuing viability of park businesses and can be summarised through the following questions:

• Who would invest in a park business if the right to trade could simply expire? The business simply couldnot be sold;
• What bank would provide funding to such a park business or continue to provide funding for a park out of licence and without guarantee of renewal?; and
• Who would enjoy security of tenure or be able to sell their park home or caravan holiday home?

4.9 These respondents felt that businesses and consumers need certainty for the future and that this would be undermined by the current proposals. One industry body respondent also pointed out that local authorities already have the power to alter licences (under the 1960 Act) and suggested that there is no sound reason for changing a system that has operated very well for more than 50 years. This respondent went on to suggest that a variation of existing licences is all that is required and that rather than requiring decent, hardworking park owners to re-apply for licences they have successfully worked within for decades, local authorities and the police should target their resources to deliver effective enforcement where it is most needed.

4.10 Other issues raised (by those opposing any renewal period as well as respondents who supported a renewal period) included the following:

• There may be issues with Licence Holders having carried out changes to their sites without the benefit of Planning Permission or contrary to existing site licences;
• Some mixed use parks may exist on one Site Licence. How will the new regulations apply to them?
• Where permitted residential accommodation exists on holiday parks for parkmanagers, how will a residential site licensing regime apply to them?
• Site owners may take the opportunity to maximise income by selling as many park homes/caravans as possible and then 'walk away' knowing they will not be issued with a new licence;
• If existing site owners are in any doubt as to whether to continue in business - for example if approaching retirement - they may decide not to apply for a new licence and put the site up for sale. This may result in previously well run sites being sold on to unscrupulous or inexperienced owners and the consequence of this could be that there are more issues to be dealt with at the outset of the new licensing regime;
• The renewal of licences could place a considerable administrative burden on local authorities. If all licence holders have to apply at the same time the situation will be further exacerbated and limited resources may lead to delays in issuing licences;
• Without information being made public (so that residents can check the validity/ completeness of the information provided) some owners may not declare all relevant personnel;
• Although there should be a transitional period for current licence holders, 2 years is too long and should be reduced to 1 year; and
• Lessons should be learned from the implementation of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 and all efforts made to minimise the upheaval any changes will cause to the industry.

4.11 Suggestions as to how the proposals could be 'made to work' included:

• That the onus should fall on the local authority to advise the site owner that their licence is due for renewal and why. This should be by recorded delivery and should be pre-dated by 6 months before normal renewal. This would 'start the clock ticking' giving 6 months for outstanding issues to be resolved;
• In the event of changes to the existing legislation, all existing licence holders should be advised at the earliest opportunity of their requirement to apply for a new site licence. This should be by recorded delivery;
• If local authorities can legally change the required site licence conditions 'between' licences, some sites may have difficulty complying when applying for a new licence. Revised model standards must be available in time for this process, whilst accompanying guidance must emphasise the need for conditions to be site appropriate, whilst not departing from the intentions of the model standards;
• Any additional administration costs should not be passed on to residents and site operators should bear the administrative and licensing costs themselves; and
• If a caravan site is problem free with a track record of 10 years or more then they should be exempt from reapplying for a licence.

Summary of Views on the Duration of a Site Licence

• The proposal to require licence holders to renew their licence on a regular basis divided respondents. Many respondents agreed with the proposition that a licence should have to be renewed every 3 years. These respondents often noted this change would bring caravan site licensing into line with many other licensing regimes.
• However, a number of respondents expressed considerable concerns about any fixed period being applied to licences. Many of these respondents were site owners, and holiday site owners in particular,and expressed concerns that the introduction of 'fixed period' licences could undermine the viability of park businesses.