FOI Request - Overnight Parking of Motor Homes

Request 101002636502

My enquiry relates to the report submitted by the Deputy Chief Executive (Economy, Environment and Finance) to the Planning and Regulatory Services Committee on 8th October 2019. The subject of the report being Overnight Parking of Motorhomes on Car Parks.

I have the following questions relating to the Report:

Section 4.2 states:   The use of land as a ‘Caravan Site’ is considered to be a ‘Change of Use’ of land.
Please provide the evidence for this statement in relation specifically to the subject of the Report, given that the parking of motor caravans in car parks is accepted without the need for planning permission for change of use.

Section 4.4 lists the "main" exemptions to the requirement for a caravan site licence.
The following exemption was not included:  A site licence shall not be required for the use as a caravan site of land occupied by the local authority in whose area the land is situated.  
As the report does not specify that it relates solely to private car parks, is the intention to apply the proposed standards to both private and local authority car parks?

Section 5.1 states:  A review of the current standards that are applied to all caravan sites has been undertaken by the Principal Environmental Health Officer and is in Appendix 2. This more relaxed set of standards is proposed taking into account that motorhomes are generally equipped with on board facilities including water, electricity run off a battery and a chemical toilet.
Appendix 2 simply lists the proposed revised standards. Please provide the evidence, including statutory requirements or guidance, that was considered during the review, in particular relating to the necessity to specify the following standards:
1. Spacing & Marking of sites
The minimum distance between any two motorhomes shall be 6.1 metres.
4. Chemical Disposal Points
Provision shall be made for the disposal of night soil from chemical closets to the satisfaction of the Council and to the satisfaction of Scottish Water where appropriate.   

The Report concludes with the statement:  The revised standards for overnight parking for Motorhomes with on board facilities in Appendix 2 are recommended to be approved for future use with immediate effect. These do not replace the need for planning consent but sit alongside any consent.
Please explain the meaning of 'sit alongside'. Are these standards a condition for the issue of site licences or planning permission?

The caravan site standards approved in 1977 (in Appendix 1) conclude with this statement:

Note: The foregoing standards were approved at a General Meeting of the Council held on 25th May, 1977 on the understanding that the standards are regarded as a general guide and that each application for a licence for a caravan site will be considered and dealt with on it's merits.

A similar statement was not added to the standards proposed in Appendix 2 to the  8th October 2019 meeting. Are these revised standards similarly to be regarded as a general guide?