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What can I do with my site before I achieve building regs approval in Scotland? We want to put a static van on site to live in during the build. Logistically it would be useful to have this in place sooner than later in the overall proces. So before we achieve building regs approval can I: Get and electrical connection made? Get a water connection made? Install the sewage treatment plant and outflow? Anything else it might be useful to do?

On a fairly regular basis, we get questions regarding whether it is permitted to live on site in a static caravan. Schedule 1 of The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992 / Schedule 2 of The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 both refer to paragraphs 2 - 10 of the First Schedule of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, which details the permitted use of land as a caravan site where a caravan site licence is not required (to obtain a caravan site licence, you require planning permission). http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/8-9/62 Paragraph 9 states Building and engineering sites Subject to the provisions of paragraph 13 of this Schedule, a site licence shall not be required for the use as a caravan site of land which forms part of, or adjoins, land on which building or engineering operations are being carried out (being operations for the carrying out of which permission under Part III of the Act of 1947 has, if required, been granted) if that use is for the accommodation of a person or persons employed in connection with the said operations. Many people believe that this paragraph means they can live on site with their families. For those individuals who are employed in connection with the relevant building operations that may be true, but the paragraph does not cover family members not employed in that process, children being a good example. Whilst it may be the case that individual Planning Authorities are more relaxed about their interpretation of this paragraph, and individual circumstances will differ, the only way to be sure that you can permanently reside on site is to obtain planning permission. The most straightforward way of doing so is to include provision of the static caravan in your main planning application.