The Caravan and Motorhome Club is an organisation representing

caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

and motorhome 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 ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. 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)

The Caravan Club Site, The Sandringham estate

A certificated location (or 'CL') is an informal privately owned

site for up to 5 caravans in the

. 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: * Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 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 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. Ta ...

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 Blenheim Palace (pronounced ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the only non- royal, non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The 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, primaril ...

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 offers Club members an exclusive deal at 21 of their Touring Parks. * National Cycle Network (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 organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment th ...

– The Club is the Species Champion of the

song thrush The song thrush (''Turdus philomelos'') is a 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 song, which has repeated musica ...

, and sponsors the RSPB’s protection of the bird. * Highways Agency – The Club has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Highways Agency.

References

External links

Official Caravan and Motorhome Club siteCaravan Club IrelandLegislation: 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