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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

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)

The Caravan Club Site, The Sandringham estate

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

: * 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 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 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 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 Club is the Species Champion of the song thrush, 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.

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