Meta description: Learn how farmers, pubs, hotels and rural landowners can create a compliant campsite in 2026 using England’s Class BC or Wales’s Class BA, including the 60-day rule, 28-day limits, 100m buffer, prior approval, costs and revenue.
Hello, farmer, pub owner, hotel operator or rural landowner.
Your unused field may support a new income stream.
Camping can add revenue without permanent buildings. You still need the right legal route, the right layout and a clear operating plan.
This guide explains the main 2026 rules.
Planning rules can change. Check the current legislation and speak to your local planning authority before opening. This guide is not legal advice.
Start with the correct planning route
“Class BC land” is not a land classification.
Class BC is an English permitted development right. It allows temporary recreational camping for up to 60 days in a calendar year.
Wales uses a separate Class BA route.
The old 28-day rule also changed in 2026. Do not assume that the former general rule still covers your campsite.
Use the correct route for your location:
- England: Class BC.
- Wales: Class BA.
- Protected landscapes in Wales: Class BA with a 28-day limit.
- Sites outside those Welsh designations: Class BA with a 60-day limit, subject to the rules in force.
Read the Class BC legislation and the Welsh Government temporary campsite guidance.
England: how Class BC works in 2026
Class BC permits:
- Up to 60 days in total per calendar year.
- Up to 50 pitches.
- Moveable structures needed for the campsite.
- Tents, campervans and motorhomes that meet the relevant definition.
The 60 days are not a rolling allowance.
Count them from 1 January to 31 December. Keep a written record. Include every operating day.
Class BC does not generally cover ordinary towed touring caravans. Check each accommodation type before you advertise it.
Some sites are excluded. These include land connected with:
- Scheduled monuments.
- Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
- Listed buildings.
- Safety hazard areas.
- Military explosives storage areas.
Check your site before you spend money on equipment.
England’s notification requirement
You must notify your local planning authority in writing before the campsite starts each year.
Include:
- A site plan.
- Pitch locations.
- Toilet locations.
- Waste disposal facilities.
- Your operating dates.
- Relevant access information.
You must also provide toilets and waste disposal facilities on the site.
This is not optional.
Keep copies of the notice, plan and delivery evidence. Add them to your annual compliance file.
When Class BC needs prior approval
Prior approval is required when the proposed campsite is in Flood Zone 2 or Flood Zone 3.
Submit the application before you start operating.
You will normally need:
- A site-specific flood risk assessment.
- Warning arrangements.
- Evacuation arrangements.
- A site plan.
- The required fee.
The local planning authority consults the Environment Agency.
Do not open while the application is being considered.
The Class BC process allows development to begin after written approval, or after 56 days have passed without the authority notifying you of its decision. Do not rely on the 56-day period without checking the current procedure with your planning authority.
Wales: Class BA and the 100m buffer
Wales has a different system.
From 2026, temporary recreational campsites use Class BA rather than the old general camping route.
Class BA allows:
- Up to 60 days per calendar year outside the specified protected landscapes.
- Up to 28 days per calendar year in a National Park, National Landscape or World Heritage Site.
- Tents, campervans and motorhomes, subject to the legal definition.
- Temporary campsite facilities, subject to the conditions.
The old 28-day rule should not be treated as a fallback route after the 2026 transition.
Check the Welsh Class BA legislation and the Welsh prior approval determination form.
Map the 100m buffer first
Class BA restricts campsite use within 100 metres of a protected dwelling or building.
A protected dwelling is generally a dwelling not occupied by the campsite owner or operator.
This restriction is separate from prior approval.
Prior approval cannot remove the buffer.
Before you design the site:
- Identify nearby dwellings.
- Confirm which dwellings are protected.
- Map the 100m area.
- Keep pitches, toilets, waste facilities and campsite operations outside it.
- Check the treatment of any access track with the local planning authority.
Only a private way may fall within the buffer under the relevant rule.
Do not estimate the distance by eye. Use an accurate site plan.
Wales prior approval and determination
Class BA requires an annual process before you begin.
You may need to apply for a determination of whether prior approval is required.
The application can cover:
- Toilets.
- Wastewater.
- Waste disposal.
- Vehicular access.
- Access and egress.
- Site layout.
The process applies each calendar year.
Submit early. Allow time for questions, changes and a formal decision.
A site in a National Park, National Landscape or World Heritage Site may also have a 28-day limit and extra planning controls.
Check environmental designations too. These may include:
- SSSIs.
- SACs.
- SPAs.
- Ramsar sites.
- Flood Zones 2 and 3.
- Scheduled monuments.
- Listed buildings.
- Safety hazard areas.
- Military explosives storage areas.
If Class BA does not apply, you may need full planning permission.
Build a compliant campsite plan
Start with the field.
Then build the business around it.
Choose the operating dates
Do not sell an open-ended season.
Set the dates first.
For England, keep the total at 60 days or fewer under Class BC.
For Wales, check whether your site has a 60-day or 28-day limit.
Keep a live calendar. Record:
- Opening date.
- Closing date.
- Guest numbers.
- Pitch numbers.
- Maintenance days.
- Any cancellation or closure period.
Design the site
Show the following on your plan:
- Pitches.
- Vehicle routes.
- Emergency access.
- Toilets.
- Waste and wastewater points.
- Water supply.
- Fire points.
- Parking.
- Pedestrian routes.
- Any buffer zones.
- Flood evacuation routes where relevant.
Keep temporary structures moveable where the planning right requires it.
Avoid permanent buildings unless you have checked the separate planning and building control requirements.
Check licensing and insurance
Permitted development only deals with planning permission.
You may still need a campsite or caravan site licence from your council.
You also need to check:
- Public liability insurance.
- Employer’s liability insurance.
- Fire safety.
- Drinking water.
- Waste collection.
- Toilet servicing.
- Food registration.
- Alcohol licensing.
- Electrical safety.
- Guest terms.
- Emergency procedures.
Read the Open Sky Adventure legal guidance and speak to your council’s licensing team.
Revenue and cost realities
Camping revenue depends on price, occupancy, capacity and operating days.
Use a simple model.
Example one:
- 12 pitches.
- £35 per pitch per night.
- 50% average occupancy.
- 60 operating days.
12 × £35 × 50% × 60 = £12,600 gross pitch revenue.
Example two:
- 20 pitches.
- £45 per pitch per night.
- 60% average occupancy.
- 60 operating days.
20 × £45 × 60% × 60 = £32,400 gross pitch revenue.
These are illustrations, not forecasts.
Add other income only when you can deliver it. Options may include:
- Breakfast at a pub or hotel.
- Farm shop sales.
- Guided walks.
- Wildlife activities.
- Firewood.
- Equipment hire.
- Outdoor skills sessions.
- Group bookings.
- Corporate team days.
Then subtract your costs.
Budget for:
- Toilets and servicing.
- Waste collection.
- Water.
- Track repairs.
- Signage.
- Insurance.
- Licensing.
- Booking software.
- Card fees.
- Marketing.
- Staff.
- Cleaning.
- Security.
- Land restoration.
- Professional planning support.
Open Sky Adventure publishes an annual service price of £495 and a monthly option of £100 setup plus £48 per month. Treat this as a service cost, not your full campsite budget. Add council fees, insurance, facilities and operating costs separately. See the Open Sky Adventure costs page.
Use a compliance file
Create one folder for the site.
Include:
- Land ownership evidence.
- Site plan.
- Planning notification.
- Prior approval documents.
- Welsh determination documents where relevant.
- Flood risk assessment.
- Licence documents.
- Insurance certificates.
- Fire risk assessment.
- Waste records.
- Toilet service records.
- Operating day log.
- Incident log.
- Guest terms.
- Complaints and action records.
Review the file before every season.
Update the plan when you change the pitch layout, facilities or access.
Make your field work harder in 2026
A compliant campsite can support farm diversification, pub income and hotel occupancy.
Do not start with tents.
Start with the law.
Check the location, annual day limit, pitch limit, protected designations, flood risk, 100m Welsh buffer and prior approval triggers.
Then price the season.
Then build the operation.
Open Sky Adventure helps landowners review opportunities, prepare the process and connect camping with outdoor experiences. Visit Unlock Your Land’s Potential, review the costs and contact the onboarding team.
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