Meta description: Learn how the 100m buffer zone works under Class BA camping Wales rules in 2026, how to map your site, manage prior approval, and plan compliant farm diversification camping.
Hello, farmer, landowner, pub owner or hotel operator.
Your land may support a temporary campsite.
Check the planning route first.
In Wales, Class BA permitted development rights now cover temporary recreational campsites. The rules allow up to 60 days in a calendar year in most areas.
The limit is 28 days in a National Park, National Landscape or World Heritage Site.
The main location test is the 100m buffer zone.
Get this wrong and Class BA cannot authorise the campsite use.
This guide gives general information, not legal advice. Check the current position with your local planning authority before taking bookings or starting work.
What is the 100m buffer zone in Wales?
Class BA does not permit a temporary campsite:
- Within 100 metres of a protected dwelling
- On certain protected or high-risk land
- For most caravan types
- Where permitted development rights have been removed
The rule applies whether the campsite is large or small.
It applies whether guests stay for one night or several weeks.
It applies whether you charge a fee or provide camping as part of a dinner package.
The buffer protects residential occupiers from the effects of temporary camping. These effects can include noise, vehicle movements, lighting, waste and loss of privacy.
It is a hard exclusion.
Prior approval cannot remove it.
If your proposed campsite falls inside the buffer, use another part of the land or apply for full planning permission.
Which buildings trigger the buffer?
Class BA defines a protected dwelling as:
- A dwellinghouse occupied by someone other than the campsite owner or operator
- A flat occupied by someone other than the campsite owner or operator
A neighbour’s house will usually trigger the rule.
A neighbour’s flat will also trigger it.
Agricultural buildings, barns, workshops, offices and commercial buildings do not normally count as protected dwellings under this definition.
Your own home does not normally count if you are the campsite owner or operator.
Check the facts carefully. A building’s lawful use matters.
Is the 100m measured from the building or the boundary?
The legislation refers to the protected dwelling.
It does not state that you measure from the neighbour’s property boundary, fence or title line.
Do not use a fence as your measurement point.
Map the dwelling itself. Show its footprint on your plan. Then draw a 100m zone from the nearest part of the dwelling to the proposed campsite land.
Where the dwelling has a complex layout, shared access or closely linked garden land, ask the local planning authority to confirm its interpretation.
Use a conservative approach.
Keep pitches, facilities, parking and campsite activity outside the mapped zone.
The private way exception is narrow. An existing private way may pass through the 100m area where the site operator has a legal right to use it for access to or from the land.
Do not treat this as permission for:
- Camping pitches
- Guest parking
- Toilets
- Showers
- Waste points
- Reception areas
- Water points
- Recreation areas
A track through the buffer does not make the rest of the site compliant.
How to survey and map your campsite
Start with a measured site plan.
Do not rely on memory or an online guess.
Follow this process.
1. Confirm the site boundary
Mark the land you want to use.
Include:
- Camping pitches
- Parking
- Access tracks
- Toilets
- Wastewater facilities
- Waste storage
- Water points
- Reception
- Emergency routes
- Any temporary structures
A field beside a pub or hotel may not form part of the same planning unit.
Check the ownership and planning history.
2. Identify nearby dwellings
Walk the site boundary.
Review mapping and aerial images.
List every nearby dwellinghouse and flat.
Check whether each property is occupied by the owner or operator of the proposed campsite.
Do not assume that an empty house is irrelevant. Confirm its lawful use and status with professional advice if needed.
3. Mark the 100m zones
Use a scaled plan.
Mark each protected dwelling.
Draw a separate 100m zone around each one.
Label the measurement method.
Show the nearest distance from each proposed pitch and facility.
If the site is close to the limit, use a measured survey. Keep the survey record with your planning documents.
4. Check other exclusions
Class BA does not apply to land that is, among other things:
- A scheduled monument
- A Special Area of Conservation
- A safety hazard area
- A military explosives storage area
- A Site of Special Scientific Interest
- A Ramsar site
- A listed building site
- A Special Protection Area
- Within Flood Zones 2 or 3
Check whether an Article 4 Direction or planning condition has removed permitted development rights.
Use the Welsh Government guidance for temporary campsites and the Class BA legislation.
What happens if your site breaches the buffer?
A buffer breach affects eligibility before the prior approval assessment begins.
The annual Class BA determination form asks whether any part of the land is within 100 metres of a protected dwelling.
If the answer is yes, Class BA does not grant consent for that campsite use.
The planning authority cannot approve the breach through prior approval.
Do not submit a weak plan and hope the authority will alter the boundary.
You have three practical choices:
- Move the campsite outside the 100m zone.
- Use a different field.
- Apply for full planning permission.
The third option may involve wider planning assessments. These can include landscape, ecology, access, drainage, noise and residential amenity.
Screening may reduce visual or privacy effects.
It does not remove the legal buffer.
Practical layout tips for a compliant campsite
Plan from the outside in.
Start with the 100m zones. Then place the pitches.
Keep pitches outside the buffer
Place every tent and campervan outside the mapped area.
Keep guest parking and communal areas outside it too.
Do not place a toilet block just inside the zone because it is temporary. The restriction concerns campsite use, not only sleeping units.
Set pitch spacing through safety planning
Class BA does not give one universal pitch-spacing figure.
Set spacing through:
- Fire risk assessment
- Site licence requirements
- Access for emergency vehicles
- The type of units you accept
- Local authority advice
- The site’s terrain and vegetation
Mark parking beside each pitch where possible.
Keep vehicles off narrow access lanes.
Plan access before marketing the site
Show the route from the public highway.
Provide a safe entrance.
Avoid queues on the road.
Use a turning area where needed.
Separate pedestrians from vehicles where practical.
Keep emergency access clear.
A private way may pass through the 100m zone if the legal conditions apply. Do not use it as guest space or a pitch area.
Place water, wastewater and waste points carefully
Show the location of:
- Toilets
- Wastewater storage
- Freshwater points
- Refuse and recycling storage
- Collection access
Keep waste secure.
Prevent leaks and runoff.
Explain collection arrangements.
Use a commercial waste contractor where needed.
Poor wastewater or waste arrangements can trigger prior approval concerns and create environmental harm.
Use screening without creating permanent development
Use existing hedges, trees and buildings to reduce views.
Place pitches along field edges where this works.
Avoid unnecessary lighting.
Use low-level, controlled lighting near access points.
Remember that permanent tracks, hardstanding, new access works and fixed buildings may need separate planning permission.
Temporary facilities must remain moveable and reasonably necessary for the campsite.
How the Class BA prior approval process works
You must apply each calendar year before starting the campsite use.
Submit the Welsh Government determination form to your local planning authority.
Include:
- A location plan
- A scaled site plan
- The 100m buffer measurements
- Pitch locations
- Amenity locations
- Toilets and wastewater arrangements
- Waste disposal arrangements
- Highway access details
- Dates of campsite use
The authority has 28 days to tell you whether prior approval is required.
If it says prior approval is not required, follow the submitted plan.
If it does not respond within the relevant 28-day period, check the legal position before opening.
If prior approval is required, provide the requested information and wait for written approval.
The authority will focus on:
- Toilets and wastewater
- Waste disposal
- Vehicular access
- Traffic increase
- Traffic character
- Highway safety
Prior approval is not a second chance to argue about the 100m buffer.
Track your camping days
Class BA allows:
- Up to 60 days in most Welsh locations
- Up to 28 days in National Parks, National Landscapes and World Heritage Sites
Count every day the land is used for camping.
A day can count even when no guest is present if the site remains available for camping.
In 2026, record any days used under the old Class B 28-day rule. Those days may reduce the remaining Class BA allowance.
Keep:
- An operating calendar
- Booking records
- Site opening dates
- Pitch numbers
- Waste collection records
- Inspection records
- Planning notices
You may also need a campsite licence. In Wales, check the GOV.UK camping licence guidance.
Wales Class BA compared with England Class BC
England and Wales now have separate campsite permitted development regimes.
| Point | Wales: Class BA | England: Class BC |
|---|---|---|
| Main limit | 60 days in most areas | 60 days per calendar year |
| Protected areas | 28 days in National Parks, National Landscapes and World Heritage Sites | Check local restrictions and site conditions |
| Pitches | Check the Welsh Class BA conditions and site requirements | Up to 50 pitches |
| Process | Annual determination, then prior approval if required | Annual notification, with prior approval in specified cases |
| Main checks | Toilets, wastewater, waste and access | Site conditions, facilities, notification and any prior approval |
| 100m rule | Yes, from protected dwellings, except private ways | Not the same Welsh Class BA buffer |
| Ordinary 28-day camping | Replaced by Class BA from 1 September 2026 | Ordinary camping uses Class BC, not the old general route |
Do not copy an England Class BC plan into Wales.
Do not rely on the English 50-pitch limit for a Welsh site.
Check the correct national legislation.
Plan your farm diversification camping project
The 100m buffer should shape your layout from the start.
Measure first.
Map the land.
Choose the right field.
Submit clear information.
Then open only when the planning and licensing steps are complete.
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Read our legal information, review our land potential service, then contact Open Sky Adventure.
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