Meta description: Learn how Class BC prior approval works for temporary campsites in Flood Zones 2 and 3, including the 60-day rule, 50 pitches, flood risk assessment and 56-day process.
Hello, landowner. Your field may support a temporary campsite.
Flood risk changes the process.
If any part of your proposed site sits in Flood Zone 2 or Flood Zone 3, you need prior approval from your local planning authority before you start.
You also need a site-specific flood risk assessment, an Environment Agency consultation, and a clear warning and evacuation plan.
Use this guide to plan your application for 2026.
This article covers England. Wales has different rules under Class BA. Check the rules with the relevant planning authority before you act.
What Class BC allows in England
Class BC forms part of Schedule 2, Part 4 of the General Permitted Development Order.
It allows you to use land as a temporary recreational campsite.
You can:
- Operate for up to 60 days in total per calendar year
- Provide up to 50 pitches
- Use moveable structures needed for the campsite
- Host tents, motorhomes and campervans
- Provide on-site toilet and waste disposal facilities
The 60 days do not need to run consecutively.
You can choose weekends, school holidays, events or selected dates.
Count every day the land is used as a campsite.
Do not count by season. Count from 1 January to 31 December.
Class BC does not allow the siting of towed caravans. It permits caravans used as motor vehicles designed or adapted for human habitation, such as some motorhomes and campervans.
Check the exact vehicle type before accepting bookings.
The old 28-day rule no longer covers ordinary camping
Many landowners still search for the 28-day rule.
The position changed in England.
The old general Class B right no longer provides the main route for ordinary temporary camping. Class B now relates to camping connected with a festival.
For ordinary temporary recreational camping, use Class BC.
The temporary campsite 60 days rule is now the key permitted development route in England.
If you want to operate beyond 60 days, provide more than 50 pitches or use permanent structures, speak to your local planning authority about full planning permission.
Do not split the same operation across fields to avoid the limit. The wider use may still be considered as one development.
First, check whether your land qualifies
Before you prepare a prior approval campsite application, check the land.
Class BC does not apply:
- On a scheduled monument
- In a safety hazard area
- In a military explosives storage area
- On a Site of Special Scientific Interest
- On the site of a listed building
An Article 4 Direction may also remove permitted development rights.
Check the site boundary, not just the wider farm.
Use the GOV.UK flood risk service. You can also check the Flood Map for Planning.
Confirm the position with your LPA if the boundary is unclear.
Step 1: Set the operating dates
Choose your dates before you submit anything.
List each period when the site will operate.
Keep the total at 60 days or fewer.
Your dates must fall within one calendar year.
For example:
- 1 May to 10 May
- 24 May to 2 June
- 20 July to 10 August
- 25 August to 1 September
Add the days carefully.
Do not use a vague seasonal period. Give the LPA the actual dates.
Keep a live calendar during the season.
Record opening and closing dates. Include any changes. Do not allow bookings to push the site beyond 60 days.
Step 2: Keep within 50 pitches
Class BC allows no more than 50 pitches.
A pitch may be used by a tent, motorhome or campervan, subject to the rules that apply to the unit.
Draw the pitch layout before you market the site.
Mark each pitch on the plan.
Show:
- Pitch numbers
- Vehicle access
- Turning areas
- Emergency access
- Toilets
- Waste facilities
- Site boundaries
- Watercourses
- Assembly points
- Evacuation routes
Do not add extra pitches during busy periods.
A smaller site may also reduce traffic, waste, noise and flood risk.
Step 3: Provide toilets and waste facilities
On-site toilet and waste disposal facilities are mandatory.
Do not open first and install them later.
Use moveable facilities that suit the temporary use. This may include portable toilets, showers, waste stations and utility units.
Show every facility on your site plan.
Explain:
- Where users will find the facilities
- How often they will be checked
- How waste will be stored
- How waste will be collected
- How wastewater will be managed
- How vehicles will access the facilities
Keep waste areas away from watercourses and food preparation areas.
Create an inspection log.
Keep waste transfer notes and contractor records.
These records support your planning and operating file.
Step 4: Prepare a site-specific flood risk assessment
A Flood Zone 2 or 3 site needs a site-specific flood risk assessment.
Do not rely on a generic flood statement.
The assessment should address the actual field, layout and operation.
Include:
- Sources of flood risk
- Flood depth and flow
- River, sea and surface water risk
- Ground levels
- Safe access and exit routes
- Climate change
- Pitch and facility locations
- Warning arrangements
- Evacuation arrangements
- Responsibilities for staff
- Arrangements for visitors who need help
- Procedures for cancelling bookings
- Emergency contact details
Camping is a vulnerable use in flood risk terms.
People may be asleep in tents. Visitors may not know the area. Some may have limited mobility. Mobile phone coverage may also be weak.
Set out what happens before a flood warning, during an alert and when evacuation is required.
Use a clear route to higher ground.
Identify a safe assembly point outside the risk area.
Tell every guest what to do.
Step 5: Submit the prior approval application
If any part of the proposed development is in Flood Zone 2 or Flood Zone 3, submit a prior approval application to the LPA.
The application must include:
- A completed application form
- A site-specific flood risk assessment
- Warning arrangements
- An evacuation plan
- A site plan
- Toilet and waste details
- Proposed operating dates
- The required fee
Use the Planning Portal prior approval form for temporary recreational campsites.
Check your council’s local submission process.
Some LPAs use their own online systems.
Make sure the application is valid and complete.
An incomplete submission may delay the process.
Apply early.
Do not wait until the week before your first booking.
Step 6: Allow time for the Environment Agency consultation
The LPA must notify and consult the Environment Agency.
The consultation must give the Environment Agency at least 21 days to respond.
The 21 days is not the full prior approval decision period.
It is the minimum consultation period for the Environment Agency.
The LPA must consider the response when it decides the application.
It must also have regard to relevant national planning policy on the flood risk matter being considered.
Answer questions quickly.
Provide extra information if requested.
Do not change the site layout without checking whether the application needs to be amended.
Step 7: Understand the 56-day rule
The LPA has 56 days from receiving the prior approval application.
Development must not begin until one of these events occurs:
- The LPA sends you written notice giving prior approval, or
- 56 days expire without the LPA notifying you whether prior approval is given or refused.
Do not treat the submission date as permission to open.
Record:
- The date the LPA received the application
- The validation date
- Any requests for information
- The Environment Agency consultation
- All LPA correspondence
- The date the 56-day period ends
Written approval is the safer route.
If you rely on the 56-day rule, obtain evidence of receipt and confirm the position with a planning professional or the LPA.
Repeat the prior approval process for each calendar year that you want to operate in Flood Zone 2 or 3.
Step 8: Complete the annual written notification
Prior approval does not replace the annual notification.
Every Class BC site must notify the LPA in writing before development starts in each calendar year.
The notice must include a copy of the site plan.
The plan must show:
- Toilet facilities
- Waste disposal facilities
- Dates when the site will be in use
Also show pitches, access and emergency routes.
Keep proof of delivery.
If the LPA is not also the fire and rescue authority, it must send the notification to the relevant fire and rescue authority.
Submit the notification even if your land is in Flood Zone 1.
Planning permission is not the same as licensing
Class BC deals with permitted development rights.
It does not remove other legal duties.
Check whether you need:
- A campsite licence
- A caravan site licence
- Public liability insurance
- Fire safety controls
- Waste contracts
- Water and wastewater permissions
- Electrical safety checks
- Food business registration
- Environmental health advice
Licensing rules can apply when a site operates for more than 42 consecutive days or beyond 60 days in a calendar year.
Confirm the position with your local authority licensing team.
Keep planning and licensing records together.
Your Class BC flood zone checklist
Use this order:
- Confirm that the land is in England.
- Check Class BC eligibility.
- Check Flood Zone 2 and Flood Zone 3 status.
- Check protected sites and Article 4 Directions.
- Set dates within 60 days.
- Keep the site within 50 pitches.
- Exclude towed caravans.
- Plan moveable structures only.
- Provide toilets and waste facilities.
- Draw a scaled site plan.
- Prepare a site-specific flood risk assessment.
- Add warning and evacuation procedures.
- Submit prior approval before starting.
- Allow for the 21-day Environment Agency consultation.
- Wait for written approval or the full 56-day period.
- Send the annual written notification.
- Confirm licensing and insurance.
- Keep a compliance file.
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Read The Legals, explore how to unlock your land and potential, then contact Open Sky Adventure.
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Sources and further reading
- Class BC legislation, GOV.UK legislation
- Planning Portal prior approval form
- GOV.UK flood risk assessment guidance
- GOV.UK long-term flood risk service
- Open Sky Adventure Class BC and Class BA guide
- Open Sky Adventure camping legislation guide
This article provides general information about camping legislation UK 2026. It is not legal or planning advice. Confirm your proposal with the relevant local planning authority before operating.