The Caravan and Motorhome Club is an organisation representing
caravan and
motorhome
A motorhome (or motor coach) is a type of self-propelled recreational vehicle (RV) which offers mobile living accommodation.
Features
Motorhomes usually have sleeping spaces for two to eight people. Each sleeping space is either fixed or conv ...
users in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. It was founded in 1907
and now represents nearly one million members (caravanners, motorhomers and campervanners).
History
The Club was founded in 1907 as ''The Caravan Club of Great Britain and Ireland''. Its aim was to "... bring together those interested in van life as a pastime...to improve and supply suitable vans and other appliances...to develop the pastime by collecting, publishing and supplying to members, books and periodicals and lists of camp sites etc... to arrange camping grounds...".
[
The Club was renamed as ''The Caravan Club'' in 1959 and celebrated its centenary on 14 June 2007. The club's current name, the ''Caravan and Motorhome Club'' was adopted in February 2017.
]
Structure
The Caravan Club is a membership organisation. The Club is led by the Executive Committee, which airs policy issues with the Club Council. The council in turn is supported by the 10 Regional Councils. Their aim of the Regional Councils is to coordinate communications throughout The Club membership. Regional Councils provide a forum to discuss Club issues and to solve local and regional problems. Club members may also vote at the Annual Members Meeting.
The Club is a member of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...
(FIA), an organisation that represents the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users.
The Club has over 900 staff and an annual turnover of over £100 million.[
The Caravan and Motorhome Club represents nearly one million tourers.
]
Sites
The Club operates around 200 main Caravan Club sites and over 2,200 smaller certificated "five-van" sites, known as CLs (certificated locations).
Certificated locations (CLs)
A certificated location (or 'CL') is an informal privately owned caravan site for up to 5 caravans in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. Visitors with caravans pay a small fee to the CL owner in order to pitch overnight. This is usually cheaper than larger commercial caravan sites. There are over 2200 CLs in the UK and they are for exclusive use by Caravan And Motorhome Club members. Each year the Caravan And Motorhome Club issues a certificate to those sites that continue to meet their standards, hence 'certificated locations'. Caravan And Motorhome Club members vote annually for the best CL in the 'CL of the Year' competition.
Most CLs are in the countryside, they are individually owned and can be on a farm or smallholding
A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...
, on spare land next to a pub, golf course or hotel or on land attached to the owner's house. CLs need no site licence or formal planning permission, but are covered by two Acts of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament ...
:
*Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960
The Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that regulated caravan sites.
Act
The Act was based on a 1959 report by Sir Arton Wilson on problems of people living in caravans, which fou ...
and
*Caravans Act (Northern Ireland) (1963) Chapter 17.
The laws state that visitors with caravans must be members of The Caravan And Motorhome Club, who are required to act responsibly and to observe the Country Code and no more than 5 caravans may be accommodated on the site at any one time. Caravans may not stay for more than 28 days per visit and must be occupied overnight. CLs are for recreational purposes and only touring caravans, motor caravans or trailer tents are permitted – tents are not permitted, other than attached caravan awnings, toilet tents or small pup tents; and permanently sited (static) caravans are not permitted on the same landholding.
There are also a number of guidelines stated. For example, CLs should be fairly level and have at least ½ acre of land; and have safe access for caravans including 12 ft wide gateway and safe approach road. If the landowner has a caravan site licence from their Local Authority, the Caravan And Motorhome Club is unlikely to issue a Certificate, unless the CL is entirely separate from the landowner's other business activities.
To become a CL, owners should provide an emptying point for chemical closets; a safe drinking water supply; A bin for dry rubbish; and public liability insurance cover. Some owners provide optional extras such as electrical hook ups, showers and toilets. Although exempt from planning permission, CL owners are liable to pay business rates
Rates are a tax on property in the United Kingdom used to fund local government. Business rates are collected throughout the United Kingdom. Domestic rates are collected in Northern Ireland and were collected in England and Wales before 1990 and i ...
and income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
on their profits.
The National
Each year, the club holds a "National Rally" over the Spring Bank holiday at the end of May. The rally usually taking place in the grounds of a stately home and can attract up to 10,000 caravanners at a time.
The first National Rally was held at Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...
in 1936 and attracting 100 caravans.[ In 2007, for the Club's Centenary year, the 80th National Rally was held in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, ]Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
from Friday 25th to Tuesday 29 May.
Other services
The club offers a variety of other services with the intention of supporting and improving the lifestyle and holidays of its members. They offer a variety of insurance products including caravan, motorhome, car, breakdown, holiday, home and pet coverage.
They also provide overseas ferry and pitch bookings for members looking to holiday overseas, as well as an extensive range of technical advice.
The club is also active in lobbying on behalf of its members.
Alliances
The Caravan Club has developed alliances with a number of groups:
* Haven Holidays
Haven Holidays is a chain of holiday parks in the United Kingdom. It operates self catering static caravan holiday parks with many also including touring and camping facilities. The company operates 41 sites in the UK in predominantly coastal ...
offers Club members an exclusive deal at 21 of their Touring Parks.
* National Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...
(co-ordinated by Sustrans) offers 12,000 miles of signed cycle routes throughout the UK. More than half of all Club Sites are situated near cycle routes.
* RSPB
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...
– The Club is the Species Champion of the song thrush
The song thrush (''Turdus philomelos'') is a Thrush (bird), thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic. It has brown upper-parts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies. Its distinctive Birdsong, song, ...
, and sponsors the RSPB’s protection of the bird.
* Highways Agency
National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in England. It al ...
– The Club has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Highways Agency.
See also
* Camping and Caravanning Club
*Caravan parks
A recreational vehicle park (RV park) or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in allotted spaces known as "sites" or "campsites". They are also referred to as campgrounds, though a tru ...
*Alan Rogers Travel Group
Alan Rogers Travel Group was formed in 2012 following the purchase of various brands from the former Mark Hammerton Group Ltd by The Caravan and Motorhome Club.
Current products and services
Alan Rogers Guides
The most established and bes ...
References
External links
Official Caravan and Motorhome Club site
Caravan Club Ireland
Legislation: The Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act (1960)
Legislation: The Caravans Act (Northern Ireland) 1963 Chapter 17
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caravan Club
Clubs and societies in the United Kingdom
East Grinstead
Organisations based in West Sussex
Organizations established in 1907
Recreational vehicles
Tourism in Ireland
Tourism in the United Kingdom
1907 establishments in the United Kingdom