Meta description: Check Class BC and Class BA campsite conditions for 2026. Learn what to clear, what to record and how to protect your permitted camping use.
Hello. If your campsite has prior approval, do not treat the decision notice as a box-ticking exercise. Read every requirement before you open. Check what must be approved, what must be followed and what evidence you need to keep.
First, know what prior approval means for a campsite
Class BC camping in England and Class BA camping in Wales are different permitted development rights. Neither is a general campsite licence.
In England, Class BC allows a recreational campsite for up to 60 days in a calendar year, with no more than 50 pitches. A site in Flood Zone 2 or 3 needs prior approval before it opens. The rules also require written notice to the local planning authority (LPA) before use each calendar year, with a site plan, dates of use, and toilet and waste-disposal details. See Class BC in the English GPDO.
In Wales, Class BA allows up to 60 days in a calendar year, or 28 days in a National Park, National Landscape or World Heritage Site. Before starting each year, you must apply to the LPA to decide whether prior approval is needed for toilets and wastewater, waste disposal, and vehicular access. If the authority requires prior approval, get it in writing before opening. If approval is not required, follow the site plan and particulars you submitted. See Class BA in the 2026 Welsh Order.
There is no standard condition list requiring every campsite to seek separate approval for arrival hours, lighting, noise or reinstatement. These may be included in a particular decision. Read your own notice.
“Discharge” is not always the right process
A prior approval decision under permitted development rights is not the same as an ordinary planning permission with conditions. The usual condition-discharge procedure does not apply to England’s GPDO prior-approval process. Wales’s Class BA procedure also does not create a general condition-discharge route.
So, do not assume a standard discharge application will clear a requirement. If your decision says you must send details for written approval before opening, ask the LPA which procedure it requires and obtain its written response. Do not start until any pre-start approval is in place.
In England, conditions attached to Class BC prior approval must relate reasonably to the matter being considered. For Class BC, that is the flood-risk matter. In Wales, conditions must relate reasonably to the matter that required prior approval, such as access or waste arrangements.
What campsite conditions may cover
Your decision notice and approved plans set the site-specific rules. Check for requirements about:
- Dates and day count: Use the site only within the permitted annual limit and the dates you notified or submitted. Keep a day counter.
- Pitch numbers and layout: Follow the approved or submitted plan. In England, stay at or below 50 pitches. In Wales, follow the pitch layout you submitted or the details approved; Class BA does not set a national 50-pitch cap.
- Arrival and departure: If the notice sets hours, put them in booking messages and tell staff to enforce them.
- Noise: If there are limits or quiet hours, communicate them to guests, respond to complaints and record what you did.
- Lighting: If the notice restricts lights, use only the permitted arrangement. Do not add floodlights or illuminated signs without checking first.
- Toilets, wastewater and waste: Provide the facilities described in the submitted or approved details. Keep service records and disposal receipts.
- Access and gateways: Use the stated entrance and route. Keep visibility clear where required. Do not shift the entrance without checking with the LPA.
- Temporary facilities: The rights cover moveable structures reasonably necessary for the permitted use. Do not add permanent buildings or facilities on the assumption that the campsite right covers them.
- End-of-season removal: If required, remove temporary equipment, waste and signs, and restore the land as specified. Keep dated photos.
Class BA camping Wales: respect the 100m buffer zone
Class BA does not permit a campsite on land within 100 metres of a protected dwelling, except for use of a private way. A protected dwelling is a dwellinghouse or flat occupied by someone other than the campsite owner or operator.
Check the distance before you settle your site layout. Mark the buffer clearly on your working plan and keep pitches, amenities and camping activity outside it. The plan submitted to the LPA should show where pitches and facilities sit. A layout change that moves activity towards the buffer, changes access or differs from the submitted or approved arrangement needs checking with the LPA before you implement it. A major change may require a fresh application for that year; do not assume an existing decision covers it.
Class BA also excludes some sensitive or restricted locations, including Flood Zones 2 and 3 and listed-building sites. Check the full Welsh Order before relying on the right.
Before the first pitch: a practical review
1. Read the full decision notice
Read the decision, conditions, approved plans and any attached documents together. Note the application reference, the approved site boundary and the exact dates.
2. List every requirement
Make a simple table with each condition or approved detail, when it applies, who is responsible and what evidence will prove compliance. Mark any wording that says “before commencement”, “before use” or “in accordance with the approved plan”.
3. Decide what needs written approval
Separate instructions you can meet directly from those requiring the LPA’s written approval. If the wording is unclear, ask the case officer. Get the answer in writing. Do not treat an informal phone call or an unanswered email as approval.
4. Submit the right request
Where a decision specifically asks for details to be approved, submit those details through the process the LPA confirms. Include the condition number, site address, plan reference and supporting documents. In Wales, remember that the annual Class BA determination comes first; if the LPA says prior approval is required, make the further application and wait for written approval.
5. Keep an evidence pack
Save the notice, plans, LPA correspondence, guest instructions, servicing documents and site records in one digital folder. Make sure the site manager can access it.
Common conditions that catch out farmers, pubs and hotels
| Common issue | Practical fix |
|---|---|
| Bookings push the site beyond its days | Keep one day counter for the whole calendar year. Count the site’s days in use, not just each booking. |
| Staff place extra pitches on a busy weekend | Mark approved pitch positions on the ground or plan. Brief staff not to add pitches. |
| A pub arrival runs late | Put any approved arrival hours in booking information, then log exceptions and action. |
| Guests bring extra lights or make noise | Explain site rules at booking and arrival. Record complaints and your response. |
| Waste or chemical toilet collection is undocumented | Keep dated receipts, collection notes and facility checks. |
| A gateway or route changes during farm work | Compare the change with the approved plan first. Ask the LPA before using a different access. |
| Temporary kit remains after the season | Set a removal date and take before-and-after photos of the land. |
| A Welsh pitch moves inside the 100m buffer | Keep a mapped buffer on the site plan. Do not move pitches into it under the existing arrangement. |
Your 2026 campsite compliance calendar
Four weeks before opening: Read the decision, check the annual day limit and pitch plan, confirm toilets and waste arrangements, brief staff and submit any required annual notice or Class BA determination early.
Each week in season: Check the pitch layout, access, waste and facilities. Update the day counter and pitch log. Record any complaint and how you handled it.
After the season: Remove temporary equipment, complete required reinstatement, collect final waste records and take dated photos. Save everything with the decision notice.
Copy this prior approval campsite checklist
- I have the decision notice and correct approved or submitted plan.
- I have checked every condition and noted any pre-opening approval.
- I have confirmed the annual operating dates and day limit.
- I will stay within the permitted pitch number and layout.
- Toilets, wastewater and waste arrangements match the plan.
- Staff know the arrival, noise, lighting and access rules that apply.
- For Wales, the site is outside the 100m protected-dwelling buffer.
- I will keep a day counter, pitch log, booking records, waste receipts and complaints log.
- I will photograph the site after reinstatement.
An unfulfilled requirement can put your reliance on the permitted development right at risk. The LPA may investigate and take enforcement action if it considers the campsite is operating contrary to the right or its conditions. If you are uncertain, pause and get advice before opening.
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