NCC 85th Anniversary Special PDF FINAL - Flipbook - Page 8
A LOOK BACK THROUGH THE DECADES
REPRESENTING
PARKS ACROSS
THE DECADES
F
rom the 1920s caravans had
begun to be lived in, usually on
a plot of land near a town with
others, writes Andrew Jenkinson.
Many units were home-built or
converted buses. Soon local councils
became involved to clear these
settlements with caravans receiving
bad press. With the creation of the
NCC in 1939, the early days of the
holiday caravan and residential park
home had a voice. Caravans would go
on to play a vital role in the war years
by providing accommodation for
bombed out families. Sites featuring
units for holidays and some living
accommodation became established,
and the NCC wanted to see park
owners segregate ‘static’ holiday
caravans to those being lived in.
In the 1960s the NCC worked with
the British Standards Institution
to develop stringent standards for
holiday caravan and mobile home
manufacturers epitomised today in
BS EN1647 and BS3632:2023.
The 1960s also saw legislation
– the Caravan Sites and Control of
Development Act 1960 – that defined
how land was to be used for caravans,
and also the birth of the twin unit
and the introduction of a protected
site in 1968 with the Caravan Sites Act.
The new standards helped provide
caravans and sites with better PR
especially since a key process then
– as today – was for councils to give
approval. Some new developments
would see better planning with
caravans having a dedicated plot
especially for what were then known
as holiday static models.
“The 1970s
would be a
boom period”
Holiday parks have evolved from basic facilities to
providing cafés, bars, entertainment, pools and gyms
for those who hire out their unit. Today, some parks
are adding charging points for electric cars too
8
NCC ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
With the holiday caravan
becoming more popular, larger
dimensions and their more
permanent nature meant no
running gear was needed and so
special lorries were instead used
for transportation. Residential
models became larger with caravan
maker Premier designing two twin
units that added more space and
permanent overall appearance.
Soon models from manufacturer
Acklam in the mid-1960s made only
twin units for the new residential
parks. Sales of touring caravans were
climbing at the same time with
new manufacturers appearing on a
regular basis, especially around Hull.
In 1963 two large caravan producers,
Sprite and Bluebird, merged with
Sprite boss Sam Alper taking control
and naming the new major force
Caravans International turning
the new company into the largest
caravan-maker in the world.
New consumer rights
The 1970s would be a boom period
peaking in 1973 to more than 100,000
units of tourers, holiday caravans and
park homes. However, April 1973 also
saw VAT on caravans introduced,
and together with high inflation and
the oil crisis, sales declined. Mobile
home users would during this
decade receive more protection with
the Mobile Homes Act 1975 being
implemented to give people more
rights.
