Elected Member Briefing Notes 2026, Issue 71
About this briefing note
Report by: Kirsty Steven, Principal Officer, Environmental Health
Date: 16 June 2026
Subject: Revocation of Residential Caravan Site Licence for Burnbank Park, Blairgowrie
Responsible Officer: Martin Smith, Service Manager, Housing and Communities
Details
Purpose
This Briefing Note is to advise that the residential caravan site licence for Burnbank Park, Blairgowrie has been unanimously revoked at Licensing Committee on 15 June 2026.
The full committee report can be found online.
Briefing information
Burnbank Park, Blairgowrie is a private residential site operated by Woodside Property Ltd (WPL). It comprises 34 lodges, with 50 residents, of which 11 are deemed vulnerable due to mobility or health conditions.
The Park was licenced under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 in March 2023 by PKC, Environmental Health (EH) Team. From the outset there have been concerns from both residents and EH officers that WPL were not easily contactable or responsive to concerns regarding the site. As this position escalated and residents became more anxious a total of three Improvement Notices were served (March/June/July 2025) due to WPL's refusal to provide 24/7 emergency contact details, in contravention of their licence conditions. Enforcement action escalated thereafter to the issue of two Penalty Notices (Sept 2025 & Feb 2026), which suspended the income generated from the site comprising pitch fees and maintenance charges, for significant periods. WPL did not comply with any of these enforcement actions
Two Emergency Action Notices were also served (Dec 2025/April 2026) requiring WPL to provide sufficient grit on site and replace defective lighting over the winter period, and more recently to undertake maintenance of the septic tank.
Again, as no action was taken by WPL in relation to these repairs PKC was left no option but to undertake these (rechargeable) repairs in default, through the Housing Repairs Team. In addition, PKC provided emergency cover over the 2025 festive period and offered appropriate support to the residents. These emergency repair arrangements and support for residents' welfare continues currently.
Given the abandonment of their legal responsibilities by WPL for such a prolonged period and non-compliance with the above enforcement actions PKC acknowledged the company's failure to meet the necessary fit and proper person requirements to hold a licence and implement its powers to revoke this site licence.
Although the licence is now revoked the site can still be used as a permanent site until the 28-day appeal period expires.
Where an appeal is either not submitted or unsuccessful there remains the ability for PKC to continue to support the residents and undertake rechargeable emergency works until such times as an Interim Manager can be employed to manage the site.
However, it is unprecedented in Scotland to revoke such a site licence and employ an Interim Manager. The legal implications of identifying and recruiting an Interim Manager are extremely complex, especially where the residential site remains under the ownership of WPL. Legal dialogue is therefore ongoing in this regard with the proposal to submit an options appraisal as part of a report to the Housing & Social Wellbeing Committee in September 2026.
A further update on this matter will be provided thereafter.
