CARAVAN ON WALMSLEY STREET

A caravan has been parked at the top end of Walmsley Street for some time and is attracting antisocial behaviour as well as being quite unsightly. A report has been sent to HBC to try to have it removed and a comprehensive statement from a Council legal official regarding the policy on caravans can be seen here:

As the local highway Authority we have powers to deal with caravans parked or 'stored' on the highway, but whether those powers should be exercised will depend entirely on the circumstances.

The starting point is that a caravan is capable of being a 'structure' for the purposes of serving a Notice under section 143 of the Highways Act, despite the fact that it is technically on wheels.  S143 provides the Authority with the power to require removal of a structure, to remove the structure itself should the owner not comply with the Notice, and to recover the expenses incurred in so doing.

However, in serving notice under s143, we must ensure that we are using our powers reasonably.  Our key considerations would be:

-       the degree of permanence of the 'structure' – it must be there for a reasonable period of time – case law is not definitive on this but we would suggest several months at least

-       whether it is causing an actual obstruction and, even if it is, whether that obstruction is sufficient to be actionable in law (a "de minimis" obstruction may be considered so trivial as to be disregarded)

The following are also relevant considerations:

-       the place where the caravan has been parked

-       the purpose of it being placed there

-       is there a public interest in the County Council taking action?

We must, therefore, satisfy ourselves that the caravan is in fact causing an obstruction in order to be able to justify the serving of a Notice.  If the parking is not obstructive, but merely inconvenient or anti-social, it may well be unreasonable for the Highway Authority to intervene.

S143 requires us to allow a period of 1 month following service of the notice before we intervene and arrange removal of the caravan.  It is not therefore an appropriate tool to deal with an immediate obstruction/danger, which should be referred to the Police.  The highway code provides as follows:-

"242 - You MUST NOT leave your vehicle or trailer in a dangerous position or where it causes any unnecessary obstruction of the road.

[Laws RTA 1988, sect 22 & CUR reg 103]"

If the caravan can be deemed "abandoned" then the relevant District Council may be able to assist in its removal, in accordance with their powers under the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978.

Finally, if the caravan is occupied by travellers, we would need to approach the matter in terms of an application for possession of the Highway in the County Court.

UPDATE: The site has now been inspected and the caravan is being stored with the permission of the owner of that side of the road. As the road is not owned or maintained by LCC or HBC there is nothing illegal about this and no action can be taken unless the caravan is causing a public health issue, blocking public rights of way or creating a serious nuisance and neither of these is currently the case.