What is a CL?

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Certified Location.
In basic terms a group of small sites (5 units) managed by Caravan Club. Caravan and Camping Club equivalent is CS (Certified Site).
 
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Facilities differ though, some are the same as club sites with showers, loos etc. but with the advantage (normally) of having more space(y)
 
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CL and CS sites are owned by individuals and their licence permits them to have no more than 5 units on their designated land at any time. They are registered by the 2 main clubs as mentioned previously, and they oversee the facilities etc and advertise/list the sites in their books. As mentioned by Debs the facilities offered do vary from basic water and waste facilities to sites with toilet, shower and even access to an indoor swimming pool!! there are also a growing number which are adult only.

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30+ years ago CLs were very basic sites.. minimum facilities.. fresh water and a dump point .. and were very cheap.. £2.50 per night or even less, wonderful.. but along came the leccy generation.. everyone wants leccy, caravans even have leccy hot plates as standard.. Consequently many CL s now have an EHU.. and prices have risen to cover the installation and the cost of the power supplied.. . £12 is more common and in popular tourist areas they can be even more.. £18 +

Downside for the motorhomer is most do not have hard standing or paved access roads, so in winter you have to be careful not to drive onto a boggy field .. been there .. ask before arriving and in winter .. always walk the site before committing rubber to the grass... also, many are not close to local facilities.. shops , beaches etc.. so not always ideal for the motorhomer with no other means of transport.. check before booking , there may be public transport close by..

Many are in farms, so may have sheep on site.. others have hens , geese etc.. so expect country smells.... noises, ... un-cut grass .. also shit on feet .. :LOL:

We have just booked one for next month in Kent.. £9 with EHU , toilet block with hot water.. bargain.. last time we visited in 2000 it was just a field and cost £2 ..

CL owners should ask for your membership number, some don't .. the one we just booked that was the first question the lady asked..

There are many other clubs that can issue exception certificates.. Jim , our dear leader has that power.. but I don't know how many Fun CLs there are.. (I think only one or two)

As said the two main Clubs with CLs are the Caravan Club.. CLs which has the most and the Camping and Caravan Club.. CSs .. the C&CC also permit some CSs to have canvas campers mixed in with the tin tenters.

The Motor Caravanners Club, also issue exemption certificates., and many other small clubs that most of us have never heard of .. for example.. Broken Link Removed.

Nearly 200 Caravan and Camping Clubs hold a Certificate of Exemption from DEFRA (The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Activities) in England,

DEFRA guide to exempted sites
 
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I remember those days with my young familly in my caravan paying a fiver for the weekend,no ehu just fresh water and a toilet dump , chickens and other live stock around you .
 
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ScotJimland said:
There are many other clubs that can issue exception certificates.. Jim , our dear leader has that power.. but I don't know how many Fun CLs there are.. (I think only one or two)
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That's interesting. So if we wanted an Aire we could find some land and open one... giving us the same power as a local authority in providing a network of Aires across the country..
 
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mjltigger said:
That's interesting. So if we wanted an Aire we could find some land and open one... giving us the same power as a local authority in providing a network of Aires across the country..
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I imagine so.. how many £millions are you looking to lose ?

5 van CLs are a hobby.. few make any real money, the cost of the land+infrastructure would take decades to recover from nightly fees.. if ever..

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mjltigger said:
That's interesting. So if we wanted an Aire we could find some land and open one... giving us the same power as a local authority in providing a network of Aires across the country..
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I believe that whoever grants the exemption is supposed to at least check in with the local authority who can object if they want to. It's not just a case of giving a certificate to anyone who wants one to open a CL anywhere they like.

And as Jim said, it's pretty unlikely that you will ever even recover your setup costs never mind make any money out of it.
 
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Is there any law or local bye law that say`s you cannot have friends stay on your land, If you have the land/acreage... :)
 
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@old-mo a place with land near us often has rallies in one of their fields.......if that's a way around what you are thinking Mo, not sure if you need to be 'certified' for that?;)
 
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I think in some rural locations Temporary Holiday Sites are allowed. Some of them run Rallies.
My friends son's school makes money ( as does the special needs school where my daughter used to teach) by being a THS each year during school holidays of course!

I've stayed in a field on Anglesey-- just a black water dump, fresh water, bins, one loo and shower. Farmers can do this each summer to make extra money (£10 a night per unit) and more money seems to go into the local economy.
 
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See also the Schedule 1 (ScotJimland link):

Use by a person travelling with a caravan for one or two nights E+W+S

2Subject to the provisions of paragraph 13 of this Schedule, a site licence shall not be required for the use of land as a caravan site by a person travelling with a caravan who brings the caravan on to the land for a period which includes not more than two nights—E+W+S

(a)if during that period no other caravan is stationed for the purposes of human habitation on that land or any adjoining land in the same occupation, and

(b)if, in the period of twelve months ending with the day on which the caravan is brought on to the land, the number of days on which a caravan was stationed anywhere on that land or the said adjoining land for the purposes of human habitation did not exceed twenty-eight.
 
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The documents on the DEFRA site gives a list of the organisations that can issue exemption certificates, and the type of exceptions they can issue.
The three type of exemptions are temporary holiday sites, 28days max non-members can attend if agreed by organisation and land owner.
Rally or meet sites, 5 days max, members only.
5 van sites, max 5 vans and non members allowed as per THS.

Ther are around 300 organisations that can issue exemption certificates, but most only have the right to THS and/or meets. Less than a dozen can issue 5 van site certificates. So the "Tiddlers & Crouchers Club" can only hold meets, "Gosport BMX Club" can only hold THS, while "The Second Chance Childrens Charity" can issue all three.

Generally the organisations themselves must have their permit to issue certificates renew every three year. A few privileged bodies have the permanent right to issue certificates, the three main "caravan" clubs, other organisations with the permanent right includes the girl guides, but interestingly NOT the boy scouts.

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tonyidle said:
See also the Schedule 1 (ScotJimland link):

Use by a person travelling with a caravan for one or two nights E+W+S

2Subject to the provisions of paragraph 13 of this Schedule, a site licence shall not be required for the use of land as a caravan site by a person travelling with a caravan who brings the caravan on to the land for a period which includes not more than two nights—E+W+S

(a)if during that period no other caravan is stationed for the purposes of human habitation on that land or any adjoining land in the same occupation, and

(b)if, in the period of twelve months ending with the day on which the caravan is brought on to the land, the number of days on which a caravan was stationed anywhere on that land or the said adjoining land for the purposes of human habitation did not exceed twenty-eight.
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And this First Schedule is introduced by Section 2 of the main Act dealing with exemptions from Section 1...
"2Exemptions from licensing requirements.
No site licence shall be required for the use of land as a caravan site in any of the circumstances specified in the First Schedule to this Act and that Schedule shall have effect accordingly. "

This could get terribly complex if your house is on land that is not just a dwelling, e.g small holding, farm, house in business premises, as to what part of the land is within the dwelling curtiledge. In such cases my guess is you would need proper legal advice to avoid issues.

Elsewhere in this site the issue of covenants restricting parking of caravans and Motorhomes on your property has also been done to death, so search for covenants if you need to.
 
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