Exemption Applications

Procedure and Help Page

The Exemption applications form is used to keep a record of applications made through MotorhomeFun. You can search the list by typing in one or more words or parts of a word. To clear the search criteria and show the full list, click the X at the right hand side of the search field and then click the search button.

This help file also stores a list of email and phone numbers for Planning Departments within each council.

Procedure

  • Put the application onto the CAMpRA Exemption Application form. Set the status to 1 – Confirmation to applicant and save the record. This will send an email confirmation to the applicant (see below). Go back into the record and change the status to 2 – Reccy the site.

To : APPLICANT

Cc : MF Applications @ CAMpRA

Subject : Confirmation of Motorhome Stopover Planning Exemption application – APPLICATION NAME

Dear APPLICANT,
Thank you for completing the Motorhome Fun online application to operate as an Aire.
One of our team will be in touch in the next few days to arrange a site visit at a mutually convenient time.
The inspector will ask to see the area that you propose to use as the Aire, answer any questions you may have and take a few photographs.
If everything is satisfactory we will notify the planning authority of our intention to issue an exemption certificate to allow you to operate as a 5 van site.
If you have neighbours you will be asked to display a notice that we will supply in a prominent position for 21 days.
Kind regards.
MotorhomeFun

  1. Virtual Inspection
    1. Do an initial virtual inspection via Google Earth/street view.
    2. If it doesn’t look viable, write an email to the applicant explaining why.
      1. Set the record status to 3 – Reject application.
    3. If it looks viable, arrange a visit Record the “Site visit plan date” in the form
      1. Set the record status to 4 – Visit appointment made
  2. Site Inspection
    1. Ensure you take a Yellow notice with you to the site visit. If possible hand the applicant a laminated copy of the Yellow Notice and the explanatory email. If you don’t have one, please ask a member of the Leadership Team to send one to the applicant in the post.
    2. During the site visit, take plenty of pictures, especially of the access and egress.
    3. Ensure you have agreed the site map on Google Earth with the applicant.
    4. Record the “Site visit occurred date” in the form
      1. Set the record status to 5 – Site visit complete.
    5. If the site visit fails then write an email to the applicant explaining why
      1. Set the record status to 6 – Site visit failed.
  3. Prepare for Council Email
    1. Create a screenshot from Google Earth and outline the actual parking area in Red. NOTE  – You must keep a screenshot from Google Earth with the actual parking outlined in Red. If you don’t, they will come back and ask for properly drawn scale plans.
    2. Load the ‘plan image’ to the Google Earth Upload box in the application.
      1. Update the record status to 7 – Log site visit & documentation.
    3. Check that you have the filled in the Council Email field.  Sometimes finding their email is difficult as they hide it. You’ll have to call.
    4.  Send the Planning email – set the “Planning letter sent date” in the form then
      1. Set the record status to 8 – Email council. This will email the relevant planning authority.
    5. Make a reminder in your calendar for 3 weeks time to chase council.
  • Keep a record of all conversations with planners. 
    • Enter in the notes section the date – your initials and then a brief description of the email/call eg
      • 01/12/2021 LG – phone call – Mrs Smith – chasing
      • 06/12/2021 MG – emailed Mrs Smith extra details
    • Very often they will not reply. We cannot issue a certificate unless we can show a dialogue between us and them, so you need to be persistent
    • Ensure you use the MFapplications email as this will be recorded in our systems and accessible by all.

Email Subject Title: Motorhome Stopover Planning Exemption {NAME OF AIRE}
Dear Planning Department,
RE: PARAGRAPH 5 EXEMPTION FOR 5 PITCH MOTORHOME STOPOVER
We are writing to you regarding a small parcel of land at:
FULL ADDRESS
WHAT THREE WORDS URL

We are MotorhomeFun, a recreational motorhome club, Authorised to issue a Planning Exemption Certificate under Paragraph 5, Section 2 of the first Schedule to the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960.
We seek to find areas to hold overnight stopovers of only 5 motorhomes for brief periods on property with the permission of the landowner. We ensure the site meets our stringent criteria for safety and having little or no impact on nearby residents.
We have inspected the above-named property and intend to add it to our list of 5 van sites that hold an exemption from our organisation. In the absence of any restrictions, we wish to issue the certificate in around 30 days hence.
We would be most grateful if you could kindly confirm that this proposed stopover does not lie within an Article 4 Direction and that there aren’t any Enforcement Notices in place.
Kind regards.

  • Site Notices
    1. Then edit the record again and set the status to 9 – Send yellow notice even if you gave the Yellow Notice to the applicant when you did the inspection.
    2. Make sure the applicant post a prominent notice for at least 21 days. This must be printed on yellow paper and laminated before being sent to them.
    3. Check that the applicant has provided photo evidence that the yellow notice has been displayed correctly.
    4. Load the image of the yellow notice to the application.
      1. Set the status to 10 – Log yellow notice OK.
  • Chasing Council and issues
    1. If the council have not responded by 21 days, change the record status to 11 – Chase council. This will send an email chasing the council. Save the record so the email gets sent.
    2. If the council send an objection pass it on to Jim and set the record status to 12 – Refer objections to Jim.
    3. If the council has not responded by 28 days after the application was made fill in the Date Awarded and change the status to 13 – Certification recommended on the record.
    4. Send an email to Jim to inform the applicant about the decision. If the council have confirmed the application he will need their email plus one from us so he can send them the appropriate certificates etc. If the council have been in dialog with us, but have not refused the application with 28 days then we send Jim the email below and he can send them the appropriate certificates etc.

Hi Jim,
We have completed site inspections, notified the planning department and have either received their approval or not received rejection within 28 days despite communication with them and us. We believe a certificate should now be issued for application number ???
Site ???
If you require any further information please let us know.
Could you please inform us once the certificate has been issued or withheld.

  • Exemption Certificate
    1. The council will hopefully have responded positively within 3 weeks of the email being sent to them originally. If they have, fill in the Date Awarded.
      1. Set the the status to 13 – Award exemption certificate.
      2. Email the applicant giving them the good news.
      3. Email Motorhome Fun (Jim) so they can send them the appropriate certificates etc
      4. On reciept of a copy of the certificate (emailed from MF) then upload this to the record.
  • Using the mfapplications emails
    1. The Exemption Application Team have access to the mfapplications email which is a shared email address.  It can be attached within Outlook, Windows mail, Apple Mail as an additional mail box so you are able to see mail without having to log in and out of the webmail on the browser.
    2. As this is a shared mailbox you should not change the password.
    3. Under the Inbox are the folders for each of the applications team members.  Within these folders are the applications which they are working on.
    4. When new mail arrived the team member checks to see if it relates to one of their applications.  If it does they then action the email and move from the inbox into the appropriate folder.
    5. This means any emails left in the inbox still require action.
    6. Unless you are specifically helping someone on a specific application don’t move emails for anyone else.
    7. If you delete an email (because for example it has been sent twice or its just the earlier part of an email trail) it is important that you check the trash folder and removed the email from here as well. As there are multiple users its possible they may feel it has been deleted by mistake and move it back to the inbox.
    8. All emails to external parties need to be sent from the mfapplications mail box to ensure that they are ‘filed’ in the system and searchable in the future.
    9. If you do have to send an email from a personal or your own campra email address then ensure you cc or bcc mfapplications@campra.org.uk.