A pitch fee review notice is a document before it is a number. Before you compare the figure on it with last year's fee, the notice has to clear the paragraph 17(2A) test and come with the form that paragraph 25A requires. Case CHI/45UC/PHI/2023/0039 and related cases, concerning Beechfield Park near Chichester and decided on 20 October 2023, is what happens when it does not.
- Case reference: CHI/45UC/PHI/2023/0039 and related cases
- Site: Beechfield Park, near Chichester
- Date determined: 20 October 2023
- Outcome: the review notice and the accompanying form were held void and of no effect
What the tribunal decided
Paragraph 17(2A) of Schedule 1 Chapter 2 makes a notice proposing a pitch fee increase of no effect unless it comes with a document that complies with paragraph 25A. The tribunal found that the form sent to the residents of Beechfield Park did not meet that requirement, and held the notice void on that basis.
The tribunal's reasoning engaged paragraph 17(6A) of Schedule 1 Chapter 2, which sets out what follows once a notice has failed the paragraph 17(2A) test: a defective notice does not take effect at all. The pitch fee stays at the figure last agreed or last determined until a valid notice and a compliant form are served.
What it meant for the residents
Because the notice and form were held void, the residents did not have to pay the proposed increase. This determination shows how paragraph 17(2A) and paragraph 25A worked on one notice, on one set of facts. It is not a finding about any other notice, and a different form with different defects could be decided differently.
What the owner may do next
Nothing in this determination stops the site owner proposing a pitch fee increase again. To do so correctly, the owner would need to serve a fresh notice at least 28 clear days before the review date, this time accompanied by a form that meets the paragraph 25A requirements in full.
Tribunal determinations are published on GOV.UK as public documents. This site has not checked whether this determination has been appealed or superseded, and anyone relying on it should check its current status before doing so.