Meta description: Plan a 2026 temporary campsite in England or Wales. Check Class BC and BA rules, prepare your application pack, manage objections and restore your land.
Hello, farmer, pub owner or rural landowner. Planning a pop-up campsite? First, check which permitted development right applies. England and Wales have different rules, and prior approval campsite does not mean the same thing in both.
Use this checklist as a starting point. Confirm the current rules with your local planning authority (LPA) before you take bookings. This guide is practical information, not legal advice.
Class BC camping England vs Class BA camping Wales
The temporary campsite 60 days rule is not one UK-wide rule.
- England, Class BC: Use land as a recreational campsite for up to 60 days in a calendar year, with no more than 50 pitches. You must provide on-site toilets and waste-disposal facilities, and notify the LPA in writing before use each year. Prior approval is required if the site is in Flood Zone 2 or 3.
- Wales, Class BA: Most eligible land can be used for up to 60 days in a calendar year. Land in a National Park, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or World Heritage Site is limited to 28 days. You must make an annual application asking the LPA to decide whether prior approval is needed. A full prior-approval application follows if the LPA says it is required.
So, the 28-day rule applies to certain Welsh designated areas. It is not a general limit for every temporary campsite.
Both classes have exclusions. For example, they do not permit development on certain protected or restricted sites, and they do not generally allow caravans, except qualifying motor vehicles designed or adapted for habitation. Read the legislation and ask your LPA to check your site. See Class BC in England and the 2026 Wales amendment introducing Class BA.
What does prior approval mean?
Permitted development rights allow some development without a full planning application, if you meet the rules and conditions. Prior approval is a separate check by the LPA on specific matters named in the legislation.
It is not a general planning permission. It does not remove other legal duties or replace checks on matters such as licensing, fire safety, building regulations, highways or environmental health.
For Class BC camping England, the prior-approval trigger is location in Flood Zone 2 or 3. For Class BA camping Wales, you must make an annual screening application. The LPA must require full prior approval if it considers the proposal likely to cause a material increase or change in the character of local traffic.
Build your application pack
Start with the documents required by the relevant class. Add clear supporting notes where they help the LPA understand how you will run the site.
1. Draw a readable site plan
Mark the red-line site boundary, entrances, field boundaries and nearby roads. Show each pitch, toilet and wastewater facility, waste point, parking area, any temporary structure and any amenities.
Add a north arrow, scale and key. Label the plan with the site address and applicant’s name. Keep the layout consistent across every document.
2. Set out dates and pitch numbers
List every operating date for the calendar year. Count the total days, including separate weekends or events. Do not assume that an unused gap resets the annual total.
For England, show that you will stay within 60 days and 50 pitches. For Wales, check whether your land is in a designated area with a 28-day limit. Class BA does not state the same 50-pitch cap, but scale still matters when explaining traffic and site management.
3. Explain access and traffic
Show the route from the public highway to the pitches. Describe the entrance width, sightlines, passing places, parking capacity and arrangements for deliveries and emergency vehicles.
Estimate visitor numbers and likely vehicle movements. Explain how you will prevent cars from queuing on the road or blocking farm access. This is especially important in Wales, where a likely material change or increase in local traffic can trigger full prior approval.
4. Cover water, toilets and waste
Say where visitors will get drinking water. Explain the toilet and wastewater arrangements, how often facilities will be serviced and who will handle the waste. Identify waste bins and collection arrangements.
England’s Class BC conditions require on-site toilet and waste-disposal facilities. Wales’s screening application plan must show toilet and wastewater facilities and waste disposal arrangements.
5. Add relevant impact notes
The legislation does not make every item below a required document for every application. Include short, site-specific notes where they help answer likely concerns or support information requests.
- Flood risk: If your English site is in Flood Zone 2 or 3, submit a site-specific flood-risk assessment, including warning and evacuation arrangements. In Wales, Class BA does not permit camping in Flood Zones 2 or 3.
- Noise and lighting: Set quiet hours, explain how you will handle complaints and use only necessary, downward-facing lights.
- Heritage and ecology: Note nearby listed buildings, scheduled monuments, protected habitats, watercourses or wildlife. Explain how you will avoid disturbance and keep people within the camping area.
- Site restoration: Describe how you will remove temporary items and waste, repair damage and return the land to its prior use.
Apply in the right order
England: Class BC steps
- Check the site is eligible and not subject to restrictions that remove or limit the right.
- Confirm its flood-zone status using current official mapping and ask the LPA if unsure.
- Send the annual written notice and site plan to the LPA before starting. Include facilities and operating dates.
- If the land is in Flood Zone 2 or 3, apply for prior approval before starting. Include the flood-risk assessment and any required fee.
- Allow time for the LPA to consult the Environment Agency, which must have at least 21 days to respond.
- Do not start until written prior approval arrives, or 56 days have passed from receipt of the application without the LPA notifying you whether it is approved or refused.
Wales: Class BA steps
- Check the exclusions, including flood zones and protected sites. Check the designated-area 28-day limit.
- Before starting each calendar year, submit the determination application, fee if required, and plan showing facilities, pitches and amenities, highway access and operating dates.
- Wait for the LPA’s written determination. It has 28 days to issue its decision or notify you that the application does not comply.
- If the LPA says full prior approval is required, submit the further information it reasonably requests. This may include impact or risk assessments.
- If the matter is transport and highways, respond with clear traffic evidence. The authority may consult relevant bodies, and consultees must generally have at least 21 days to respond.
- Do not begin until the relevant gateway is met: written notice that prior approval is not required, the applicable 28-day period expires without the specified notice, or full prior approval is granted.
How long should you allow?
Build in time to prepare plans, check mapping and resolve gaps before you submit. The 28-day Welsh screening period and the English 56-day prior-approval period are statutory process windows, not promises of a quick decision. In Wales, a full prior-approval process can take longer, especially if the LPA asks for more details or consults others.
Contact the planning team early. Ask about application forms, fees, validation requirements and local restrictions. Do not set an opening date that depends on an unconfirmed decision.
Write a clear covering letter
Keep your letter short. Identify the site, applicant, class and requested decision. List the files you have attached. State the proposed dates and number of pitches.
For example:
Dear Planning Team,
I am submitting [an annual notice under Class BC / a Class BA determination application] for [site address] for use as a temporary recreational campsite on [dates], with [number] pitches.
The attached plan shows the site boundary, access, pitches, facilities and waste arrangements. [For England: The site is in Flood Zone 2/3, and I have included a site-specific flood-risk assessment.] Please confirm receipt and advise if you need further information.
Yours sincerely,
[Name and contact details]
Do not describe an England notice as an application for prior approval unless the flood-zone trigger applies. In Wales, label the first submission as the determination application.
What can lead to refusal or block the proposal?
The LPA may refuse full prior approval if the submitted information does not address the matter under consideration. In Wales, an access proposal with a likely material traffic impact may need stronger evidence or changes. In England, flood risk, warning and evacuation arrangements are central to a Flood Zone 2 or 3 application.
The bigger risk may be that the permitted development right does not apply at all. Check the site exclusions, annual day limit, pitch limit in England, caravan restrictions and any local direction affecting permitted development rights. A submitted application does not make ineligible development lawful.
Answer consultation objections with facts
Read each objection and identify the issue: road safety, parking, noise, flooding, waste, wildlife or heritage. Reply point by point. Refer to the plan, give specific operating controls and offer a practical change where needed.
For example, if neighbours raise traffic concerns, show parking capacity, arrival arrangements and how you will keep the highway clear. If an objection is outside the prior-approval matter, do not ignore it. Explain whether it affects your proposal or requires a separate check. Keep every response calm, brief and documented.
After approval: keep records and restore the site
Keep copies of notices, applications, plans, decisions, conditions, operating dates and correspondence. Record actual opening days, pitch numbers, waste collections, complaints and any incidents. Follow every condition and the details you submitted.
When the season ends, remove temporary facilities, litter and signs. Check the field for damage, repair disturbed ground and take dated photographs. Keep those photos with your records.
Get your 2026 campsite plan ready
Check the exact legislation and contact your LPA before you commit to dates or bookings. For more outdoor planning ideas, read our UK camping advice and guides.
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