Setting up a Certificated Site
Do I Qualify?
If you have at least half an acre of fairly level land, and it’s not next door to a licensed site, there’s a good chance you qualify!
We offer certification for Full sites (caravans, motorhomes and tents), Caravan Only sites (no tents) and also Tent Only sites (no caravans or motorhomes – also suitable for sites where access is particularly poor).
There are many different reasons why landowners choose to look into having their own Certificated Sites, whether it is for extra income, or just the pleasure of meeting new people, making friends, or sharing the beautiful surroundings with others.
The Club holds exemptions from Natural England (formerly DEFRA) which allows us to help land owners like you set up their own small campsites. These exemptions allow you, once certificated, to:
- Accommodate up to 5 caravans or motorhomes, and 10 tents at any one time.
- Be open all year round if you wish, or you can specify your opening months.
- Keep all of the site fees.
The Club doesn’t charge a penny for any of our services. We offer a ‘hand-holding’ process from start to finish and have a dedicated department specifically for our Certificated Sites.
The certification process can take from as little as 3 months from filling out the application form, to welcoming your first campers. There are no hidden costs or ‘tie-ins’ so why not ask one of our experienced Site Officers to come and visit you and discuss the possibilities?
Our ‘All You Need to Know’ guide will give you more information about what setting up and operating a CS is all about; the guide is free of charge and should answer any questions you might have at this stage. It also has a step by step of the application process we follow so you know what’s happening, and how long it takes. To access our ‘All You Need to Know’ guide, please enter your details here; and the guide will be sent to you via email.
What would I need to do?
Don’t do anything at all until a Site Officer has visited you and we have given written approval for you to start work, but the basic requirements of a Certificated Site are:
- At least half an acre of fairly level land
- Safe access and egress from the site; our Site Officer will assess this for you but we base it on approximately 100 meters of clear view in either direction. It doesn’t matter if you have a narrow or single track lane either, provided there is good visibility and enough passing places.
The facilities you will need to provide before a certificate is issued are:
- A drinking water tap
- A rinsing water tap (for swilling out toilet cassettes)
- Dry waste disposal – something as simple as a bin that can be emptied regularly
- Chemical Disposal Point (CDP) – information available within the ‘All You Need to Know’ guide.
You can choose to provide more facilities at any time such as hard standing, electric-hook up points or toilets and showers, this is entirely at your discretion but such work may require planning permission from your local authority.
All you need to do, is read through our All You Need to Know guide, complete the application form online here, or request one through the post by emailing exemptions@thefriendlyclub.co.uk, or calling the Exempted Camping Team on 024 7647 5198.
What help will I get?
We are here for anything you need help with! If you are struggling to fill in the form, just give us a call and we will go through it with you. If you have any unanswered questions, ask us. It doesn’t matter if the query is big or small; we want you to be as confident and as comfortable as possible so don’t hesitate to contact us.
The step-by-step process is explained in the ‘All You Need to Know’ guide, in here, it will tell you what we do, how we do it and roughly how long it takes. We are on-hand for any queries you have either during application or when the site is up and running. We will do all of the paperwork for you in terms of required correspondence with the local authority, neighbours, our site officer and we’ll keep you informed of progress along the way.
Once your site is ready to open, we will give you a free basic advert into Your Big Sites Book, and on our online site directory. You will also be given the opportunity to enhance your advertising to one of our superior packages.
We also have a team of Site Officers who visit all of our Certificated Site owners on an annual basis and can offer any advice and support you require.
The Exempted Camping Department is on hand to answer any queries you might have, at any stage. You can call us Monday to Friday 8.45am – 4.45pm, or can send an email at exemptions@thefriendlyclub.co.uk any time – we will respond within 3 working days.
