Mobile homes: model standards for residential site licenses

Part 2: The Model Standards

These 2018 Model Standards replace Appendix A of Model Standards for Residential Caravan Sites of Scottish Development Department Circular 17/1990. The 1990 model standards continue to apply to sites which are not licensed for permanent, year-round, residents (e.g. holiday and touring caravan sites).

Number of Mobile Homes, Site Plans and Boundaries

1. The maximum number of mobile homes to be stationed on the site is

2. The boundaries of the site and each pitch must be clearly marked by appropriate man-made or natural features.

3. A plan of the site of a suitable level of quality and detail must be supplied to the local authority whenever there is a material change to the boundaries or layout of the site.

Amenity and Privacy

4. For amenity and privacy reasons:

• The distance between any two units should generally not be less than 6 m.
• The density of mobile homes on a site must not exceed the density stated in the planning consent conditions, or if none is stated, 50 mobile homes per hectare of usable area (excluding lakes, watercourses, high flood risk areas, roads, common service areas, and other areas unsuitable for the siting of mobile homes).

Roads, Gateways and Traffic Routes

5. Roads must be constructed of hard durable materials (such as suitable bitumen macadam or concrete with a suitable compacted base) and must be provided so that no mobile home is more than 45 metres from a road. Roads must be capable of carrying vehicles with an axle loading of 14 tonnes as a minimum.

6. Roads must be designed to provide adequate access for emergency vehicles. Routes for emergency vehicles must be kept clear of obstructions at all times. Where necessary, suitable vehicle turning areas should be provided.

7. All roads must have adequate surface water/storm drainage. Roads must not be less than 3.7 metres wide unless they are designed for, and used by, one way traffic in which case they must not be less than 3 metres wide.

8. One-way systems must be clearly signposted.

9. Where existing two-way roads are less than 3.7 metres wide, passing places or a one-way system must be provided.

10. All gateways/entrance/exits to the site must be a minimum of 3.5 metres wide and have a minimum height clearance of 3.7 metres for vehicular access and be accessible at any time.

11. Roads must be maintained to a good standard.

12. Cable overhangs must meet the relevant statutory requirements.

13. Salt or grit should be provided in conveniently located containers, for use to allow the safe movement of vehicles in icy conditions.

14. Where appropriate, suitable measures (e.g. signage or speed bumps) to control the speed of vehicles on the site should be provided.

Pedestrian Routes

15. Every hard standing must be connected to a road by a footpath at least 0.9 metres wide with a hard surface which must be maintained in good condition.

16. Communal pedestrian routes should not be less than 0.9 metres wide. The route should be made of a hard surface and must be maintained in good repair and in a safe condition.

17. All pedestrian routes must have adequate surface and storm water drainage.

18. Salt or grit should be provided in conveniently located containers, for use to allow the safe movement of pedestrians in icy conditions.

19. The surface and gradient of roads and all pedestrian routes should be designed and maintained to take into account the requirements of disabled households.

Bases and Hard Standings

20. Every mobile home must be sited safely and securely on a hard-standing or solid base.

21. The base must extend over the whole area occupied by the mobile home, and must where possible project at least 0.9 metres outwards from its entrance to enable occupants to enter and leave safely. The hard standings must be constructed to the industry guidance current at the time of construction, and kept in a suitable condition with any necessary maintenance.

Supply and Storage of Gas

22. Gas supply (liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural) and the storage of LPG gas cylinders must meet relevant statutory requirements, and relevant Standards and Codes of Practice.

23. Any gas installations must be designed, installed, tested, inspected and maintained in accordance with relevant statutory requirements. Any work on gas installations and appliances on the site must only be carried out by persons who are competent to do the particular type of work being undertaken.^[3]

Electrical Installations

24. Thesite must be provided with an electricity supply and distribution network of adequate capacity to safely meet the reasonable demands of the mobile homes and other facilities and services within it. The electrical system on the site, including the distribution network and supplies to mobile homes and site buildings, must be designed, installed, tested, inspected and maintained in accordance with relevant statutory requirements.

25. Any work on the electrical distribution network on the site and equipment connected to it must be carried out only by persons who are competent to do the particular type of work being undertaken.^[4]

Oil Storage Tanks

26. Oil storage tanks must be designed, constructed and located so as to comply with relevant statutory requirements and British and/or European Standards.

Water Supply

27. All pitches on the site must be provided with a water supply sufficient in all respects to meet the reasonable demands of the mobile homes situated on them, and all water supplied for human consumption must be of the quality required by relevant statutory requirements and British and/or European Standards.

28. The water distribution network and installations must be designed, installed, tested, inspected and maintained in accordance with the provisions of the relevant statutory requirements and British and/or European Standards.

29. All repairs and improvements to water supplies and installations must be carried out to conform to relevant statutory requirements and British and/or European Standards.

30. Work on water supplies and installations must be carried out only by persons who are qualified in the particular type of work being undertaken and in accordance with relevant statutory requirements and British and/or European Standards.

31. Water supplies should be adequately protected from damage by frost.

Drainage and Sanitation

32. The mobile home site, including every hard standing, must be provided with a suitable drainage system for the hygienic disposal of foul, rain and surface water from the site, buildings, mobile homes, roads and footpaths.

33. The surface and foul drainage network and installations must be designed, installed, tested, inspected and maintained in accordance with relevant statutory requirements.

34. Each mobile home and site building must be connected to a foul drainage system. The connection should be capable of being made air-tight when not in use.

35. Provision must be made for foul drainage either by connection to a public sewer, a sewage treatment facility or to an appropriate septic tank or treatment system approved by the local authority or, where appropriate, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). Septic tanks and treatment systems should be registered with SEPA in accordance with their requirements.

Flooding

36. The site licence holder should establish whether the site is at risk from flooding by referring to SEPA's Flood Maps.

37. Where the site is at risk of flooding the licence holder should sign up to SEPA's Floodline service, establish an evacuation plan, and display notices prominently on the park with all relevant information.

Lighting

38. Roads and pedestrian routes must be provided with an adequate working artificial lighting system between dusk and dawn to allow the safe movement of pedestrians and vehicles around the site during the hours of darkness.

39. Where appropriate, communal buildings should have adequate working artificial internal and external lighting.

40. The lighting systems and installations must be designed, installed, tested, inspected and maintained in accordance with relevant statutory requirements.

Domestic Waste

41. Each mobile home must be provided with, or have ready access to, appropriate facilities for the recycling of waste material and for the disposal of residual waste.

Notices and Information

42. Displayed in a prominent place must be:

a) details of how to contact the Police, the Fire and Rescue Service, and emergency and local medical services;

b) the name, contact address and telephone number of the site licence holder or the site manager (if different from the site licence holder) and their emergency contact details;

c) a copy of the Site Rules. If the site rules are more than one page long the first page can be displayed, along with details of a specific place on the site that the full site rules can be inspected on request;

d) a copy of the Site Licence.

All notices must be suitably protected from the elements.

Other relevant information should be provided to the local authority if requested, including a copy of documents showing the on-going maintenance and inspection of the site and its facilities.

Site Maintenance

43. The site licence holder should ensure that the site and all the facilities on it are maintained in a good order and condition, and function as intended.

Additional Structures and Alterations to Existing Structures

44. New structures on the site and buildings or structures undergoing a change of use, alteration or adaption must comply with relevant building standards Regulations. Planning Permission may also be required and any conditions complied with.

Mobile Homes Let by the Site Licence Holder for Permanent Accommodation

45. Each mobile home let by the site licence holder must be maintained in a good state of repair by the site operator, be weatherproof, free from damp, and comply with the relevant British Standard at the time of manufacture (at time of publication BS 3632:2015). The standard covers the manufacture of mobile homes, for use as permanent places of residence.

Parking

46. Sufficient and appropriate provision should be made for car parking by residents and their visitors.

Glossary

47. In these standards we have used the following terms. Please note this glossary defines these terms for the purposes of these standards only, and is not (and is not intended to be) a reference for how these terms are used in all legislation or by Local Authorities and others. In these standards:

"axle loading"
the axle load of a wheeled vehicle is the total weight felt by the roadway for all wheels connected to a given axle.

"hardstanding"
means a solid base upon which a mobile home is situated.

"holiday caravan site"
means sites open only for the summer months and perhaps also for part of the spring and autumn seasons and those sites open during the winter for holiday purposes

"local authority"
means the local authority which issues the caravan site licence.

"mobile home"
for the purposes of this guidance this means a caravan that someone lives in as their residence, and covers other terms used to refer to such a mobile home (including park home, unit, residential mobile home, and residential caravan).

"pitch"
means the area of the site in which the hardstanding or stance is situated and any adjacent or surrounding ground which forms part of a tenancy agreement.

"relevant permanent site"
has the meaning given in section 32Z6 of the 1960 Act

"spacing"
means the distance which must be maintained between any point on one mobile home and an adjacent mobile home.

"site licence holder"
means the person who holds the licence for a caravan site.

"site manager"
means a person or organisation appointed by the site licence holder to be responsible for the day to day running and management of a site.

"touring caravan site"
means a site for caravans which are not permanently placed on the site throughout the year or the holiday season