The Use of Mobile Homes as Residential Accommodation Report September 2013 Castle Point Borough Council Contents Introduction 2 Location and Quantity of Provision 4 Comparison with Other Areas 14 Satisfaction with Provision 16 Socio-Economic Implications 24 Implications for Housing Land Supply 27 Conclusions 28 Appendices 29 1 Castle Point Borough Council Introduction The NPPF expects local planning authorities to prepare local plans that are based on adequate, up-to-date and relevant evidence about the economic, social and environmental characteristics and prospects of the area. This evidence base should be proportionate to the issues and circumstances of a local area. In Castle Point, as is revealed by the information that follows in this report, there are a number of households living in mobile homes. This number has increased substantially over the last decade as a result of changes to the tourism economy in the borough. There has been a change from the use of caravan sites as holiday parks where units are used for holiday purposes and let by the week or are owned privately as a holiday home. These units usually stand on concrete bases with services “plugged in”. In the main this change has seen the replacement of static caravans on these sites with semi-permanent mobile homes and chalets used for all year round residential purposes. Such units are normally known as park homes and are specifically designed to look more like conventional bungalows. This report has been prepared as a response to this locally specific issue to describe the past and likely future contribution towards housing supply that caravans may make. It has considered the impact residential caravans have had on housing completions in the past. It also considers the potential for caravan sites to supply additional residential accommodation moving forward. This will allow the Council to plan proactively for future housing land supply based on an understanding of the local market in residential caravans. Unlike traditional homes, it is not possible to use planning and building control records to monitor the change of use of caravans on a caravan site. Therefore, this report uses a range of other data sources to provide an accurate picture of the contribution caravans make to local housing supply. A recent appeal decision in relation to a housing proposal in Castle Point indicated that park homes should not count towards housing supply in Castle Point, and to count them is not within the spirit of the NPPF. However, the Mobile Homes Act 2013 and associated ministerial announcements indicate that this is not the Government’s position in relation to park homes. In a speech to the residential park industry in July 2013, the Minister for Housing, Mark Prisk MP stated that the residential park homes should be ‘regarded as an integral part of the housing market’. The introduction of the Mobile Homes Act provides additional rights to residents of mobile homes in light of growth in this sector, and the need to ensure residents, who are quite often older people, feel secure in their homes. This report therefore seeks to explain in detail the nature of provision in Castle Point, and primary data on the lifestyle choices that have resulted in the growth of the residential use of caravans in Castle Point has been collected to underpin this explanation. Additionally, this report gives consideration to the impact that changes in the number of households living in static caravans have had on the local community. In particular, 2 Castle Point Borough Council consideration has been given to the socio-economic implications arising from the rapid and significant changes that have occurred at Thorney Bay Caravan Park to the south of Canvey Island, which until 2005/2006 was still in use as a holiday park, and now is the permanent residential address of some 300+ households. For the purposes of this report the definition of a caravan is that which is found in the Caravan sites and Control of Development Act 1960 as supplemented by section 13 of the Caravan Sites Act 1968. This states that a “caravan means any structure designed or adapted for human habitation which is capable of being moved from one place to another (whether by being towed, or being transported on a motor vehicle or trailer…”. 3 Castle Point Borough Council The Location and Quantity of Provision Castle Point There are four static caravan parks in Castle Point. These are: • Holehaven Caravan Park, Haven Road, Canvey Island • Kings Park, Hindles Road, Canvey Island • Kingsley Park, Hart Road, Thundersley • Thorney Bay Caravan Park, Thorney Bay Road, Canvey Island The location of these parks is shown in figure 2. With the exception of Kingsley Park, these sites are all located on Canvey Island and commenced their existence as holiday parks for tourists. Due to the decline in popularity of seaside resorts across the UK as the availability of beach holidays abroad expanded in the 1980’s and 1990’s these parks are no longer able to operate viably as holiday parks. Therefore, since the 1990’s the Council has seen a gradual shift of focus towards the provision of residential accommodation on these sites for permanent year round occupation. Each of the individual sites in Castle Point has followed its own business model for achieving this shift over varying timescales. The history and contribution of each site to the overall provision of residential accommodation in Castle Point is explained in more detail later in this report. Census data, as set out in figure 1 below shows that the number of households living in caravans in Castle Point increased by 806 between 2001 and 2011. Figure 1: Comparison of Census 2001 and 2011 Data on Household Accommodation Type Year Caravans in Residential Use Number % of Total Dwellings 2001 432 1.21% 2011 1238 3.4% Change + 806 +2.19% The figure of 1,238 caravans is included within calculations related to the overall number of homes in Castle Point at 2011. Therefore, any population or household projections prepared using the 2011 Census data will take account of the number of people and households living in caravans in Castle Point. 4 Castle Point Borough Council Figure 2: Map showing the location of Static Caravan Parks in Castle Point 5 Castle Point Borough Council Holehaven Caravan Park Planning permission for the use of Holehaven Caravan Park for the siting of caravans for residential use was granted in 1965 (application CAN/311/65). Figure 3 shows the site in use for this purpose in the 1980’s. Figure 3: Holehaven Caravan Park circa 1980 Source: Canvey Community Archive Various applications for the redevelopment of the site for permanent homes were made and several were approved during the 1990’s and early 2000’s. However, due to the nearby location of the Oikos oil storage installation, and changing advice from the Health and Safety Executive, only a part of the housing proposals to the west of the site were delivered. The remainder of the site is still used for the siting of caravans, which are now arranged in a more orderly and less spacious configuration. Figure 4 shows the current arrangement of caravans at this site, with the newly provided homes in the background. Figure 4: Image of Holehaven Caravan Park circa 2012 6 Castle Point Borough Council Source: Castle Point Borough Council As the siting of static caravans upon Holehaven Caravan Park is permitted by the initial planning applications for the residential caravan use dating back to 1965, it has been necessary to monitor the change of configuration of caravan provision on this site through the collection of data from the Census and Council Tax records. This has provided a clear indication of the contribution Holehaven Caravan Park has made to housing provision in Castle Point during the period 2001 to 2011. Figure 5: Comparison between Census Data and Council Tax data for Holehaven Caravan Park between 2001 and 2011 Year Data Sources Census Data on Household Council Tax Records for Accommodation Type for Holehaven Caravan Park Canvey Island West Ward1 2001 21 31 2011 30 31 Change 9 0 Baring in mind that the Census is likely to under report on people living a more transient lifestyle, such as those who may live in mobile homes, the reasonable level of consistency between the two sets of data related to this site suggest that Holehaven Caravan Park has become more established as a residential park over the past 10 years, but has not contributed additional homes to housing supply. 1 Given the alignment with Council Tax records, it is assumed that the households living in caravans in Canvey Island West Ward according to the Census can be found at Holehaven Caravan Park rather than at Thorney Bay Caravan Park in 2001. Lower Layer Super Output Area Data was used to determine the distribution between Holehaven Caravan Park and Thorney Bay Caravan Park. 7 Castle Point Borough Council Kings Park Kings Park Caravan Park, Canvey Island has an extensive planning history dating back to 1957. A list of the relevant planning decision in relation to the siting of caravans on site is available at appendix 1. The site was initially used as a holiday park and grew extensively through the 1960’s and 70’s to accommodate the increased demand for holidaying across the UK. Kings Park was a popular holiday park with a pool, club house and other ancillary facilities. Figure 3 shows the type of accommodation present at Kings Holiday Camp as it was then know in 1970. Figure 6: Image of Kings Holiday Camp circa 1970 Source: Canvey Community Archive During the 1990’s the demand from holiday makers declined and the owners of the site commenced a programme of converting the site to residential use.