People living in caravan and mobile home sites in Reading will be better protected from unscrupulous management thanks to a new policy.
Reading Borough has four caravan and mobile home sites where people live, with the biggest of these being Harvey’s Nurseries in Caversham.
Located in Peppard Road, Harvey’s Nurseries has a maximum capacity of 96 units.
Elsewhere, there is a five-unit site in Mill Green, Caversham, an 11-unit site in Waterview Park and a five-unit site at Riverside Park, with both of the latter parks located in Scours Lane, Tilehurst.
In 2020, changes to legislation were introduced by the Government requiring the manager of a caravan or mobile home site to be a fit and proper person.
These people have to undertake a DBS check, be financially stable, and must not have committed certain crimes, such as fraud, violence and sexual offences.
Now, Reading Borough Council has adopted its own policy for determining whether those who manage sites are fit to do so.
Elements of the policy include requiring that the person has the right to work in the UK, has competence in managing the site and has not breached relevant laws, such as the Equality Act 2010.
The fit and proper person has to pay an administration fee of £167, to be paid once every five years, to cover the cost of an application.
The decision to adopt a fit and proper person policy was debated by Reading Borough Council’s licensing applications committee on Tuesday, July 12.
Cllr Paul Carnell (Conservative, Caversham Heights) asked what would happen if a fit person commits a crime, or evidence emerges that the person is no longer fit to manage the site.
A council officer replied that the licence can be revoked, and a new person would have to be found to replace them.
If no one is selected among the park’s residents, a fit and proper person will be council appointed.
Although the council licensing officer presenting the policy had no examples of it working elsewhere in the country, ultimately the committee agreed that it would be sensible to adopt a policy to make sure those people running sites are responsible.
Cllr Karen Rowland (Labour, Abbey), lead member for environmental services and community safety, said: “I think it’s really important and it just makes sense.
“I know when we’ve got rules, it makes things a lot easier.”
The licensing applications committee unanimously decided to adopt the policy.
