Meeting documents

An apology for absence was submitted on behalf of Councillor C Tomlinson.

There were no declarations of interest declared.

RESOLVED (UNANIMOUS): that the minutes of the meeting held on 21?July?2015 be approved as a correct record and signed by the chairman.

The committee considered a report on the Mobile Homes Fees Policy and associated documents.

The council had granted Caravan Site Licences under The Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 (as amended) (CSCDA60) for sites that have planning permission for a caravan site.

The CSCDA60 had now been amended by the Mobile Homes Act 2013 (MHA 2013). The MHA 2013 was introduced in order to provide greater protection to occupiers of residential park homes and caravans as the existing legislation had not been updated for more than 50 years.

This Act introduced some important changes to the buying, selling or gifting of a park home and the pitch fee review process. There was an expectation that councils would inspect sites annually and use the additional powers to ensure compliance with site licence conditions.

The council could also now charge a fee for different licensing functions, serve enforcement notices and publish any site rules relating to a site. The fee generated by the MHA 2013 was not designed to include investigation of harassment or matters not related to the Site Licence as these should be dealt with through Residents Associations or other appropriate channels.

The changes introduced by the MHA 2013 for site licensing came into force on 1 April 2014.

These included powers for local authorities to charge fees for their licensing functions in respect of ?relevant protected sites?. A relevant protected site was defined in the Act as any land to be used as a caravan site with planning consent, other than one where a licence was:

? granted for holiday use only

? in any other way subject to conditions which restrict the usage of the site for the stationing of caravans for human habitation at certain times of the year (such as planning conditions)

Relevant protected sites to which the legislation applies were typically known as residential parks, mobile home parks and Gypsy Roma and Traveller sites etc.

Sites which did not fall within the definition of ?relevant protected sites? were still subject to the licensing requirements contained within the CSCDA60, but the provisions relating to payment of fees did not apply.

Under the new Act, a fee could be charged for:

? applications to GRANT a new licence

? applications to TRANSFER or AMEND an existing licence

? Annual licence fees for administering and monitoring existing site licences.

This policy detailed?the fees to be charged for all of these licensing functions.

The fee levels had been calculated based on the estimated average time and costs involved in undertaking the activities involved?(Appendix 1 to the report detailed what the council could consider in calculating the fee levels).

The fee rates set out in this policy cover the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016.

RESOLVED (UNANIMOUS): that ?

1. the Mobile Homes Fees Policy be noted and that the following be included within the associated documentation ?

(a) in Appendix 3 to the report, with regard to the question on waste disposal reference be made to whether park homes on farm sites will be situated near proper drainage;

(b) details of the standard site licence conditions; and

(c) details of the site inspection form.

2. subject to 1 above, the policy be approved for public consultation to allow providers and users of mobile homes sites an opportunity to comment on the changes.

RESOLVED (UNANIMOUS): that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items of business as they involved the discussion of information which was defined as exempt from publication under paragraphs 1 and 2 (information relating to an individual and information which was likely to reveal the identity of an individual) of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 and in which the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing it.

?

During the course of the meeting the chairman (using his discretion) stated that this exclusion would apply to all non-members of the committee except for members and officers who have direct responsibilities for the licensing portfolio and service. Councillor Mrs Moon disagreed with the chairman?s discretion and left the meeting during the consideration of the following item.

An application for a private hire driver?s licence was submitted.

The applicant, Mr Hawarden, attended the meeting and addressed the committee.

RESOLVED (6 FOR, 3 AGAINST, 1 ABSTAINED): that Mr Hawarden?s application for a private hire driver?s licence be refused.