The NCC and Willerby – helping you find the perfect holiday home

Willerby is a proud member of the National Caravan Council (NCC) – leading and promoting the UK holiday home and leisure industry. We recently chatted to Rob Mooney, our Director of Technical, about NCC and why it benefits both you and us.

By choosing Willerby, you can be confident you’re investing in a high-quality holiday home that is perfect for you.

All of our homes are accredited and regulated by the National Caravan Council (NCC) so it doesn’t matter whether you’re buying a Willerby in Cornwall or Cumbria, Devon or Derbyshire – the quality of our homes remains the same.

In a nutshell, with Willerby, you can be sure you’re getting a home you can rely on.

But what is the NCC? What does it regulate? And most importantly, what does it mean for you?

What is the NCC?

The National Caravan Council (NCC) was established over 80 years ago, in 1939, and is the UK trade body for holiday homes and residential park homes.

The NCC works with its members – that could be manufacturers like us, caravan distributors, or holiday park operators – to ensure the industry delivers high-quality products and services.

As well as helping to maintain the high standard of holiday homes across the UK, the NCC also carries out routine inspections to ensure compliance is being maintained.

How are we regulated?

All of our homes fall under one of two NCC specifications – Holiday Home Specification BS EN 1647:2018 and Residential Specification BS 3632:2015.

EN 1647 is a European standard for seasonal holiday homes, while BS 3632 is a British standard for residential park homes which are suitable for year-round use.

Our homes are inspected and assessed across a range of criteria, including:

• Ventilation
• Accessibility of fire escapes
• Gas system compliance
• Thermal insulation
• Fire retardancy of furnishings
• Chassis labeling
• Heat, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

BS 3632 sets a higher requirement and standard for thermal insulation. This is due to it being an accreditation for residential homes that can be lived in all year round - subject to the park it is sited on holding a licence for 12-month residential use.

At Willerby, all of our models built to European standard are assessed by the NCC annually. Each home we manufacture is assessed by an internally-trained inspector.

For British standard homes, every home we build is inspected by an NCC-accredited assessor to check its quality and compliance with regulations.

Why does it matter?

Being NCC accredited means you, as a customer, can have confidence in the safety and quality of our product.

Put simply, if you’re buying a home that is accredited with either EN 1647 or BS 3632, you are investing in a product that is compliant with all the required specifications.

Put simply, if you’re buying a home that is accredited with either EN 1647 or BS 3632, you are investing in a product that is compliant with all the required specifications.

NCC accreditation can also be awarded to holiday park operators and holiday home dealers. It means every product they sell will come from an NCC-accredited manufacturer, like Willerby.

Look out for the NCC accreditation badge when looking at a holiday home. If it’s visible, you can have peace of mind that the home has been inspected and regulated.

"Being a member of NCC means we can remain at the forefront of the holiday home industry both in terms of quality and regulation, as well as driving forward advancements in sustainability.

"With the help of NCC, we are notified of any upcoming changes to regulation and policy in the manufacturing of holiday homes, and can make the required alterations to ensure we stay ahead of the game.

On top of that, the NCC also works with its members to gain insight and market trends in the industry, helping the holiday sector evolve and thrive together."

How the NCC benefits you

The NCC plays an important role in prompting changes to regulation which improve both the safety and quality of holiday homes across the UK.

In a recent case, an NCC fire compliance officer visited a UK holiday park, and found that smoke detectors were battery-operated. At the time of the visit, heat alarms were not mandatory and were not installed.

The compliance officer concluded that, due to the high proportion of the year that the holiday park was booked up, the holiday homes were closer to domestic premises in their usage.

It prompted an industry change which now means our holiday homes are manufactured with smoke and heat detectors which are hard-wired, as opposed to battery-operated, making NCC regulated holiday homes safer than ever before.

To discover more about what we call ‘The Willerby Difference,’ visit www.willerby.com/your-willerby-holiday-home.