Adding Value to Caravan Sites

Posted by Greenslade Taylor Hunt on 20th May 2025 -

There has been a resurgence in the popularity of domestic tourism in recent years. We saw a boom in ‘staycations’ following the Covid-19 pandemic, which has continued in the years that followed. Weather permitting, all signs point towards another strong year in 2025. 

Across the South West, caravan sites have benefited enormously from this growth in local tourism. But in a competitive market, there is always a need to stand out from the crowd to ensure future growth and success can be sustained. 

This article looks at some of the ways caravan site operators could use the planning system to add value to their businesses.

Adding flexibility to occupancy conditions
Many caravan sites are still subjected to ‘old style’ holiday occupancy conditions. These will often restrict occupation to certain times of year and/or apply strict limitations on how long individual occupants may stay during a single visit. 

By contrast, modern conditions tend to be far more flexible, with some local planning authorities (LPAs) allowing year-round occupation as long as caravans remain in genuine holiday use and are not occupied as a person’s sole or main residence. So, if your caravan site remains subject to an old style condition, you may wish to explore whether you could get this amended to enhance your offering.

Replacing touring pitches with static pitches
Many caravan sites are now looking to switch some or all of their touring pitches to static caravan pitches. This trend has arisen, in part, due to the increasing quality of static caravan products, more generous occupancy conditions (see above) and a significant increase in the demand for static caravan ownership.

It is a common misconception that touring pitches can always be swapped to static pitches without planning permission. Although the land use may be the same, the physical works required to create a static pitch (e.g. installing concrete bases, altering internal road and parking arrangements etc) are likely to comprise ‘operational development’, for which planning permission could be required. 

While planning permission will in most cases be required, many LPAs are supportive of such applications; recognising that caravan parks must be allowed to evolve in order to secure their long term viability. Aside from the business case, LPAs will often recognise the significant highway benefits, including the cessation of cars towing touring caravans on rural roads. Such benefits will inevitably be weighed against perceived harms, for example the landscape impact of swapping temporary touring caravans with permanent and larger static caravans and whether this can be mitigated. 

Professional advice should therefore be sought from an experienced planning consultant to understand if planning permission is required and, if so, whether an application is likely to be successful.

Extending your site
If your existing site is operating at capacity, then extending your site could be an option. Again, it’s important to bear in mind that some LPAs are more supportive of this type of development than others. Technical matters including highway capacity, access suitability, biodiversity, drainage and landscape impact will also need to be fully considered and professional advice should be sought at an early stage.

On-site facilities
Providing on-site facilities such as a swimming pool, restaurant or other on-site activities can help to make your site stand out from the competition. Depending on what you are aiming to achieve, planning permission may be required and so again it will be important to seek the advice of an experienced planning consultant.

Certificate of Lawfulness
Right across the region there are numerous instances of caravan parks that have existed for many years without the benefit of planning permission. Fortunately, if the use has been ongoing for 10 years or more it will have become lawful, meaning the LPA cannot take enforcement action. This situation can be formalised by applying for a Certificate of Lawfulness, supported by evidence to demonstrate the nature and period of the established use. 

There are four main reasons why a Certificate of Lawfulness may need to be obtained:

1.    The LPA may insist that you formally establish the lawfulness of the caravan site before it will support planning applications for further development.

2.    By establishing that a site may lawfully be used to accommodate a large (or even unrestricted) number of pitches, you may strengthen your hand with the LPA when applying for new development (e.g. if you wish to swap touring pitches for static caravans).

3.    If you intend to sell the caravan site, it is likely that prospective purchasers will require evidence that the use of the site is lawful.

4.    The LPA’s enforcement team may require an application to be made if it considers the matter to be in the public interest.

The GTH Planning team is experienced in dealing with tourism and leisure developments across the South West region.  Contact details below.