Mobile home in the garden - Public forum - Planning Advisory Service (PAS)
Mobile home in the garden
rebecca mazurkiewicz, modified 6 Years ago.
Mobile home in the garden
New Member Posts: 4 Join Date: 29/06/17 Recent Posts
Can anybody please help?!
We are looking to install a mobile home in the garden to be used as ancillary accommodation for members of the household. I have put in a pre-planning application form and they are saying it would need planning permission and this would likely not be granted. Is this correct?
The most recent email I received goes as follows...
Dear Rebecca,
My advice is based on planning legislation and case law, specifically whether the siting of the proposed mobile home on the land would fall within the definition of development set out in section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. There are two separate elements to this:
1: whether the mobile home would be a building for the purposes of section 55.
2: whether the use of the mobile home would constitute a material change of use of the land it is sited on.
If either of these are the case, planning permission would be required.
On the first point, this is not straightforward as there is contradictory case law on this matter. In Measor v. Secretary of State for the Environment [1998] it was judged that caravans lacked that degree of permanence and attachment to constitute buildings, however considerable doubt has been cast on this interpretation by more recent high court cases, particularly Save Woolley Valley Action Group Ltd v. Bath and North East Somerset Council [2012]. It is my view that we would be likely to consider that the mobile home would constitute development for the purposes of section 55. If you disagree with this view you would have the option of submitting and application for a Lawful Development Certificate for a formal determination on this.
There are permitted development rights to erect buildings within the curtilage of dwellings within certain limits, these are set out here. These do not apply to land to the side of dwellings in conservation areas. To the rear of the house buildings of over 2.5m in height within 2m of a boundary of the curtilage are not permitted and the total area of ground covered by buildings (other than the original dwellinghouse) must not would exceed 50% of the total area of the curtilage (excluding the ground area of the original dwellinghouse).
On the second point, if the mobile home were to be sited outside of the domestic curtilage of your house this would result in a material change of use of land in any case. If it were to be sited within the domestic curtilage, we would consider it to constitute a material change of use of the land if were to have all facilities required for independent habitation (bedroom, cooking and bathroom facilities).
Kind regards,
Alex Cameron
Hey ho, here we go again. I say that becasue this issue appears time and time again on this forum. So here goes. Provided the caravan is a caravan, and is capabale of movement either on its own two wheels or by being picked up and transported on the back of a low loader ( as in it meets the tests laid down by the Caravans Act) then it is not a permanaent structure. As such the officer's references to position height of a building etc are of no consequence in this instance. Nor is the reference to the Wholley Chickens case, becasue that wasnt about a caravan, and with all respect to the officer he is dangerously mixing his case law. A caravan is a use of land, and as the use of the planning unit appears to be residential already, its stationing within the residential curtilage or even the wider residential garden in those instances where the garden and curtilage are not one and the same, is not development! Outside the residntial planning unit then it would be a problem, as the officer points out it would consitutue a change of use of land. I am not sure how they jump to the conclusion that the siting of a caravan would need permission, other than they simply do not understand the law.
My colleague Mike Hyde is a specialist in this, he's currently on holiday, but i would recommend you contact him if you intend to submit a certificate of lawfulness application.
rebecca mazurkiewicz, modified 6 Years ago.
RE: Mobile home in the garden
New Member Posts: 4 Join Date: 29/06/17 Recent Posts
Many thanks for your swift reply!
The caravan in question is actually a lodge, however is falls under the category of mobile home, it's a moveable structure (in 2 halves) and falls under the size limits.
His initial email goes as follows
Dear Rebecca,
Although you state that the building would not be physically attached to the ground, it appears that it would be likely to be physically connected to services etc. and require some kind of footings or surfaced base. Taking this and its scale I believe that the mobile home you proposed would be development requiring planning permission.
The area of land where the caravan is proposed is does not appear to be domestic curtilage. Looking at the most recent satellite photos on Google Earth from 2009 the rear boundary of the garden runs parallel to the ‘L’ shaped area of land immediately to the side and rear of the house. In earlier photos it is not clear whether the land is garden or agricultural land.
In addition, the whole of that land to the side of the house was included in the change of use from agricultural to agricultural/equine use granted planning permission in 2013 (ref: 13/13/0293P). It appears to me that the domestic curtilage of the property is the ‘L’ shaped area of land immediately to the side and rear of the house. If the other area has not been continuously in domestic use for the past ten years, the use as garden would be unauthorised and require planning permission.
Therefore, I believe that the use of the building would result in a material change of use of the land it is proposed to be sited on. Furthermore, if the building were to have all facilities required for independent habitation (bedroom, cooking and bathroom facilities) it would not be incidental to the main dwelling and therefore would be considered to be a new dwelling.
You
In addition, Permitted Development rights for development within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse set out in the General Permitted Development Order 2015 do not permit development within a Conservation Area on land between a wall forming a side elevation of a dwellinghouse and the boundary of the curtilage of the dwellinghouse. Therefore, notwithstanding the above, it would not be possible to site the building on the land under those Permitted Development Rights.
Therefore, the proposed building would require a planning application. Taking into account that the property is located within Trawden Forest Conservation Area and on a prominent hillside I do not believe that a building such as the one proposed would be likely to be acceptable in design terms. The property also falls within the Green Belt and the proposed building would be inappropriate development. This would also not be likely to be considered to be a suitably accessible location for a new dwelling and therefore, unless the building were limited to ancillary accommodation only (with no cooking facilities etc.), it would be considered to result in a new dwelling in an unacceptable location. I therefore believe that the proposal would be unlikely to be acceptable.
Kind regards,
Alex Cameron
Rebecca there is a thread on here from 2014 'static caravan in garden' worth reading from it. I will post the following from it though:
" I have succesfully argued many times, and have the Lawful Development Certificates to prove it, that a caravan that meets the definition in the 1960 Act (as amended by the 1968 Act), sited within a garden, and used for ancilliary purposes (including the provision of additional residential accommodation) does not amount to development requiring planning permission. On appeal, costs have been awarded against Councils who have tried to argue otherwise!" Mike Hyde
The bottom line is this , if something is not development everything else dows not matter, whether its in a conservation area, etc etc
If somethig is not development it is of no concern to an LPA.
rebecca mazurkiewicz, modified 6 Years ago.
RE: Mobile home in the garden
New Member Posts: 4 Join Date: 29/06/17 Recent Posts
Hi Chris,
Thank you so very much for all your help! Where does this leave me? If I buy the mobile home can they insist I remove it? Do I still need some sort of authorisation from the council? I do know our local council is particularly difficult when it comes to planning! Not sure what I should say next to the planning officer! Thanks x
Rebecca, which LPA is it? ( you can DM me if you want to say off the record) What i would say is this, if it is a caravan as defined by the Act and if it is sited in your residential garden then the LPA can do nothing about it. However, that is not to say they will not try to do something about itbased on their lack of understanding of the issues ( for example having services attached does not make a caravan a building) If that is the case then you have two options, apply for a certificate of lawfulnes and/or appeal. I suggest you do use a good agent and of course i recommend Mike Hyde. I have attached something which should be useful for you.
rebecca mazurkiewicz, modified 6 Years ago.
RE: Mobile home in the garden
New Member Posts: 4 Join Date: 29/06/17 Recent Posts
Hi Chris,
Again a massive thank you for your help and advice! If you're ever in our area I owe you a few drinks!! The council is pendle Borough council-apparently they are notoriously difficult when it comes to planning!
Is Mike away at the moment? He sounds like a good talk to too!
If I went ahead, bought the mobile home, and sited it-if the council object at that point is Mike the man to help me apeal? Is that his job? Would be good to talk to him soon!
X
Mike is away on holiday. Im based in Chorley. As i said if you do what is allowed under the provisions of the Caravan Act and in your residential garden then there is nothing they can lawfully do. If you give them the opportunity by 'placing ' something on the ground that does require their permission , they will clearly refuse it. however, you now have some ammunition of your own ( and i have loads and loads more) to advise them acordingly.
Nigel Hancock, modified 6 Years ago.
RE: Mobile home in the garden
New Member Posts: 14 Join Date: 19/10/11 Recent PostsTed Slevin, modified 6 Years ago.
RE: Mobile home in the garden
Enthusiast Posts: 43 Join Date: 24/01/17 Recent PostsThe letters from the council contain a great may facts which do not apply in this case. Most is total rubbish designed to put you off. For example there is no 2 metre rule for a caravan because its not a development. However you have to be right all the time and the council only have to get lucky once to stop your development. In fact they only need to think they are right on one item to cause you a great deal of trouble and expense.
If I were you i would place the caravan obviously in the garden and curtilage of your property. The council have a great deal of latitude in how they interpret the definition of curtilage so stay well clear or anywhere which can be controversial. It does not even matter if you are in a conservation area the only thing that can stop you is if its within the curtilage of a listed building.
I would then place a low cost mobile home with wheels on the site to test the water. I say with wheels as the definition of a caravan as being any building you can move with a crane has not been sufficiently tested in the high court for it not to cause you some problem still in the lowewre courts.
You should not dig any foul drains I would use a chemical toilet to start with. You need building approval; for underground foul drains and they can cause you a great deal of trouble if you ignore this.
Once the caravan is in position you then apply to modify your drains.
You must also avoid doing substantive work on the site such as patios and rampes as this can be taken as an indication you are going to go for the 4 year rule instead of the 10 year occupancy rule. This will make the council did their heals in
So long as you do things in such a way that they think you know the rules they will stop harassing you with irrelevant put downs.
The other option is to get a lawful development certificate for the caravan first but this is complicated by the fact you dont need a certificate for what you are doing.
If there is any confusion as to where the curtilage of your property is then it may be a very good idea for you have this sorted out and although I have never heard of anyone applying for a lawful development certificate to bring certainty to the definition of your curtilage it's exactly what the certificates were brought in to clarify.
There seems to be doubt about which land you are siting on and its status, did you propose one or more possible locations?.
The advise that fits will depend on getting all the information.
Most LPA's will have had bad experiences so expect weak arguments to be tested.
Ted Slevin, modified 6 Years ago.
RE: Mobile home in the garden
Enthusiast Posts: 43 Join Date: 24/01/17 Recent PostsPerhaps we have not made the situation perfectly clear.
You can only place a caravan in your garden without planning permission if its within the curtilage of your property.
For example, if you own a field at the bottom of your garden this will not be considered curtilage and you can’t place the caravan on it.
The definition of the boundaries of curtilage are not necessarily the same as the boundaries of the property and in fact they rarely are for anything but the simplest cases.
You cannot assume that your understanding of the curtilage will be anything like the councils. If its the case of a caravan they usually want to restrict the curtilage. in other cases, they want to extend the curtilage and their opinion is very powerful and you would almost certainly end up in court if you want to disagree with them as there is no full definition of curtilage. For example, if you already have a caravan in the field (for more than 4 or 10 Years) they will want to say the field is within the curtilage so that you are restricted in what you can do to ancillary use from the main house.
In fact, I have seen objections that the siting of a caravan is nearer an adjacent property and therefore not in your curtilage even though you on your land.
Without having the full details of your planes, generalities will have to do, so if you have any doubts that the caravan location is within the curtilage you either have to take a risk with a cheap caravan to start with or you need to get certainty over the definition of the curtilage with lawful development certificate.
In the case of a lawful development certificate I would be tempted to use it purely to establish the curtilage without specifying the caravan. This way you stop them placing additional caveats in the approval.
Ted
Kelsey Tim, modified 2 Days ago.
RE: Mobile home in the garden
New Member Posts: 3 Join Date: 24/04/24 Recent PostsRenting a mobile home can be a practical and cost-effective housing solution for those seeking flexibility and affordability. With the option to move locations relatively easily and often at a lower cost compared to traditional housing, renting a mobile home offers a sense of freedom and adaptability. Plus, modern rent mobile home can provide comfortable amenities and living spaces, making them an attractive choice for individuals and families looking for a cozy place to call home without the constraints of a fixed location.