I'm thinking of buying either a tourer or a static and living on a residential caravan site around Lytham and St Anne's and surrounding areas on the Fylde coast.
Firstly, does anyone know of any?
Secondly, when a site states that it's a seasonal pitch, how long is the maximum you can stay at one time before you return to it?
I've just rang a place and they wouldn't be specific but did let me know that they are a holiday site and not residential so that's fair enough but I still don't know how long you're allowed to stay on a holiday site if you buy the pitch for the season.
First you need to decide what you actually want.
Caravan sites (with a few specific ecxeptions that probably do not apply to you) come under specific legislation (planning and site licence).
A residential site is exactly that - the park homes (statics) are expected to stay on the particular pitch and be used as a main/only and permanent home.
A static holiday/leisure site is expected to be used by people who have a "proper" residence elsewhere (caravan/flat/house, here or abroad) and cannot legally be used as your home. The length of stay and open season varies from park to park.
Seasonal sites are for touring caravans, where the van stays on site for the entire season (and can often be stored there out of season) and the owners, expected to have "proper" homes elsewhere, come and go to the van whenever they want to (during the season).
Usually - but not always - the maximum length of continuous stay is 28 days.
Although there are sites that will turn a blind eye to people using a holiday static or touring van as their home, they will not openly admit to it as they will be breaching both planning permission and the terms of their site licence.
So, if you are thinking of buying somewhere to live in as your only home, you need to find a residential park (and buy a park home on the site).
If you want somewhere to use as a second home you need to look at static holiday parks.
If you have or are buying a touring caravan to use as a second home or main home, there are already some discussions of this forum about living in them, so have a read through.
Please don't think of buying a static on a holiday site and living in it as your permanent (only) home. I know people do it, but it is extremely risky. First of all you have to buy the static from the site, as most won't take one you have bought elsewhere. A lot of people get caught out like that. You can buy a used static for next to nothing off ebay (and elsewhere) but it will be un-sited and unless you have your own land to put it on you are stuck as no site will take it as you didn't buy it from them.
Secondly, with static holiday homes you have no security whatsoever. If the site owner tells you to quit, you and your static have to go! There is nothing you can do about it. You might find a nice friendly site owner who would "never do anything like that", then they sell up and the new owner decides to have a clear-out. Some sites have a 10 year rule, whereby once a static reaches 10 years old it has to go. It then become virtually worthless as nowhere else will take it. It really is a minefield! You need to be very careful what you get into.
Proper residential Park Homes are an entirely different matter. They are designed to be lived in and the parks are covered by a different licence and different legal requirements. There are not usually any age limits, and you have very much greater security.
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