Operator of illegal caravan park is prosecuted

03 Dec 2025

The operator of an illegal caravan park in Brandon has been ordered to pay more than £1,800 after a successful prosecution by West Suffolk Council.

Andrew Rose, 64, of Lynn Road, Weeting, pled guilty to a charge of Failure to license a Caravan Site as required by the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, when he appeared before Ipswich Magistrates on Monday.

He was fined £293, order to pay a victim surcharge of £117 and costs of £1,473.32.

The charge relates to campsite at the back of The Ram Hotel in Brandon.

The unlicensed site has around 28 caravans and around 30 people living on-site.

The licensing regulations are in place to ensure sites are properly run and to protect the safety of residents living there. That includes meeting conditions around cleanliness, fire safety and the inclusion of proper facilities for the residents there. These are standards that apply to all other licensed caravan parks both in West Suffolk and nationally.

Cllr Gerald Kelly, Cabinet Member for Environment and Regulatory at West Suffolk Council said: “The safety and health of residents living in and close to the site is paramount – that is why we have regulations in place and why we must act when the basic standards continue to be ignored and when we receive complaints about the running of the site.

“We have already given advice prior to this court action over the steps the operator needs to take if he wishes to continue to run a legal caravan park on the site. That first step is to address the lack of planning permission in order that he can then apply for a licence.

“That advice has to date been ignored and that same advice still applies following this successful prosecution. We will be monitoring the situation very closely before deciding what we need to do next, and we will of course support the residents to move off the site if that help is needed.”

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