Agenda item

Report of the Group Director of Services

The Group Director of People submitted a report (previously circulated) inviting Members to approve a fees policy required under newly introduced Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020.

It was reported that the Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020, prohibit the use of land as a residential mobile home site unless the local authority is satisfied that the owner or manager of the site is a fit and proper person to manage the site. The purpose of the fit and proper person test is to improve the standards of park (mobile) home site management and the regulations were made on 23 September 2020 and by 1 October 2021 all site owners must submit an application for a relevant person to be assessed as fit and proper persons.

Darlington currently has 19 licensed caravan sites and the fee to license these ranges from £200 to £260 depending on the number of pitches and there is a charge of £100 for a variation to be made to this licence.  The submitted report proposed therefore that a fee of £100 be charged as a fair and transparent cost to cover costs incurred in the first instance, until such a time a process mapping exercise can be carried out to provide an accurate cost for subsequent annual applications.

General discussion ensued on the regulations and in particular the test for fit and proper in relation to site owners and the Licensing Manager advised Members that there will be a high input from other responsible authorities and intelligence to support a refusal or grant of a licence and advised that conditions could also be added to a licence where necessary.

RESOLVED – That the Mobile Homes Fees Policy with a charge of £100 for publication be approved.