Static caravan

[Jilly]

I'm exploring this properly. We didn't get permission for this with the planning, so I guess I ought to do this. 

Is there a way round it by just plonking it there and saying it is for tea breaks etc? 

Any tips of how to acquire one, or would it be safer to buy some kind of actual mobile home so it could be moved?

 

 

 

[ProDave]

Strictly speaking you should get PP for it. It is normal for temporary PP to be granted on request for a static caravan to live in on site during a build.

 

You should also notify the council when you occupy the caravan and pay council tax for it, normally band A

 

We bought ours from one of the 2 caravan dealers nearby. Buying from a dealer has the advantage they they will have the large flat bed lorry to transport them. You can search adverts and buy one privately (e.g from another self builder who has finished with it) but then you will have to find someone to transport it.  The 2 local dealers near us are notorious for not wanting to transport anything they have not sold so it can be hard to find someone to move one.  When we sold ours after the previous build, the buyer had to get a company from nearly 50 miles away to transport it as the 2 local ones said no.

[Bitpipe]

2 hours ago, Jilly said:

I'm exploring this properly. We didn't get permission for this with the planning, so I guess I ought to do this. 

Is there a way round it by just plonking it there and saying it is for tea breaks etc? 

Any tips of how to acquire one, or would it be safer to buy some kind of actual mobile home so it could be moved?

 

 

 

We didn't get PP for a caravan (which we lived in for 18 months, was on site for 9 months prior to that and 6 months after).

 

Paid council tax once it was occupied and the existing was demolished and had to keep paying until it was off site. 

 

Was to rear of house so that may have helped .

[joe90]

I put a static here and did not apply for PP, if you search the web you will find info that says PP is not required fir a temp building, like the container I have on site. I told them it was for builders facilities but I was sleeping In It during the week but had a house in Bristol where the wife stayed till the build was nearly complete and paid council tax on the house only. It might be worth a punt not applying fir PP like I did but if you are living in it you will need to pay council tax like @ProDave says above.

[Temp]

You don't need planning permission for "workers accommodation" on site (or even on adjacent land I think). However it must be just for building site workers. So everyone that lives there must do some work on the house and probably regularly. A few hours a day might be enough (?) but no children for example. 

 

If you just want a temporary place to live and won't actually be doing any regular work on the house then officially you need Planning permission. Some council's insist on this, others turn a blind eye or only insist on planning permission if someone complains. 

 

If you just put a van on the site without permission and the planners approach you about it your best bet is to reassure them it's only temporary and will be gone soon after completion. If they decide you need permission you should probably file a planning application for temporary permission. That could take many weeks to be determined but meanwhile you can still live in the van.  If the application was rejected you could appeal and appeals can take 6-9 months to be heard and another few weeks for a decision to be made so you could probably delay enforcement for nearly a year. The planners are also unlikely to fight an appeal if they believe you will have finished the house and removed the van by the time it's heard.

[joe90]

As @Temp says even if they objected you would almost certainly win on appeal and the planners know it, just put it there and say you were told it would be ok, IF they object, offer to pay council tax, apologise fir getting it wrong (grovel grovel). I don’t think it would be a problem and worth the gamble. If you get on with the neighbours that would be a good start.