Check 2026 campsite toilet requirements UK, water rules and sewage limits before you open a temporary campsite in England or Wales.
Hello, landowner, farmer or campsite operator. Check your facilities before you open.
What campsite facilities does the law require?
In England, Class BC lets you use land as a recreational campsite for up to 60 days in a calendar year, with no more than 50 pitches. It also requires you to provide toilet and waste-disposal facilities on site.
That requirement is part of the permitted development right. It is not optional guidance.
Before you start each year, notify your local planning authority in writing. Include a site plan showing the toilet and waste-disposal facilities, plus the dates the site will be in use. Mark where the toilets are. If you leave them off, your notification is defective.
Read Class BC in the GPDO. Wales has its own Class BA process, introduced in 2026. Check its requirements and submit the required plan before you open.
Class BC does not set a universal number of toilets, taps or showers. Other requirements can come from site-licence conditions, planning decisions, building regulations and water or sewage rules. So check each one.
The 28-day rule and campsite licensing
Do not confuse planning rights with site licensing. The 28-day rule and permitted development rights do different jobs. In England, Class BC is a separate route for qualifying recreational campsites. It allows up to 60 days, subject to its conditions.
A site licence may be required if camping runs for more than 42 consecutive days or for more than 60 days in a calendar year. This trigger appears in standard campsite licence conditions, including those used by Wealden District Council. Check your council’s rules and your operating dates. Do not assume that staying within the Class BC day limit answers every licensing question.
For more on permitted development and the legal routes, see our legal guide and landowner information.
Campsite toilet requirements UK: council benchmarks
The Caravan Sites Act Model Standards for touring caravan sites are often used by councils when setting licence conditions, including for tented sites. Treat these figures as common benchmarks, not automatic requirements for every campsite. Check the conditions for your site.
| Facility | Common benchmark |
|---|---|
| Pitch density | Up to 75 units per hectare of usable area. Tent pitches reduce the number of caravan units. |
| Space between units | 6 metres between units in separate family use, with at least 3 metres kept clear for fire spread. |
| Emergency access | Within 90 metres of every unit. |
| Drinking water | A tap within 90 metres of every pitch. Provide a soakaway or gulley at each tap. |
| Waste water point | Within 90 metres of every pitch. Ask the water authority about contaminated water disposal. |
| Toilets | For every 30 pitches, 1 WC and 1 urinal for men, and 2 WCs for women. On a site with 10 to 30 pitches, provide at least those facilities. |
| Wash basins | At least 4 per 30 units, with 2 for each gender, next to the toilets. |
| Showers | Not required under 70 pitches under these standards. If you provide them, allow 1 per 25 pitches, with hot water. |
| Chemical toilet disposal | Provide a properly designed disposal point, with nearby water for rinsing. Mark water as non-potable where needed. |
| Refuse | Provide enough storage and arrange collection and disposal. |
For sites with fewer than 10 pitches, a toilet block may not be justified under these standards. You may still need chemical closets or a rule requiring guests to use their own toilet. Some councils require facilities to be available 24 hours a day. Above 120 pitches, pro-rata reductions may apply.
Add the facility locations to your plan. Check your local authority’s licence conditions before you build or buy equipment. Review our earlier fire risk assessment guide for the separate fire requirements.
Campsite drinking water supply rules
Put a drinking-water tap within 90 metres of every pitch if you are using the Model Standards benchmark. Make sure the water is safe for its intended use.
A borehole, spring or well supplying a commercial campsite counts as a private water supply in England. Campsites are specifically covered by Regulation 9, whether seasonal or open all year, and whether or not the site needs a licence.
Contact your council’s environmental health team early. It must risk-assess a Regulation 9 supply at least every five years and arrange monitoring under the regulations. Commercial supplies generally need annual sampling. You may be charged for the work. Mid Devon District Council says checks must be completed and verified before the site opens, so do not leave this until launch week.
Wales has a similar commercial-supply approach under its private water supply rules. Contact the relevant council before opening and check its testing and charging requirements.
For a short pop-up site, mains-fed water delivered by a bowser can be an alternative to a private supply. The Drinking Water Inspectorate says temporary events using mains water from tankers or bowsers fall outside the private-supply regulations. Follow the relevant handling standard and keep the water protected from contamination.
Read the Drinking Water Inspectorate’s Regulation 9 note. A plumbed borehole at a campsite is not the same as a temporary mains-fed bowser.
Campsite septic tank and drainage field rules
If your campsite toilets, basins, showers or kitchen drain to a private sewage system in England, the discharge must meet Environment Agency rules. You avoid an environmental permit only if you meet all the general binding rules that apply to your system.
For discharge to ground, the daily limit is 2 cubic metres, or 2,000 litres. Use a septic tank or package treatment plant that discharges through a drainage field. Never send septic tank effluent straight to a watercourse.
For discharge to surface water, the daily limit is 5 cubic metres, or 5,000 litres. You must use a small sewage treatment plant. A septic tank is not permitted for this route.
A campsite is commercial premises. Size the system using British Water’s Flows and Loads guidance, not the domestic calculator. Add all flows together. Guest toilet and bathroom waste can count as domestic sewage, but you still need to use the commercial sizing method.
Check the site before you choose a tank or drainage field. A new discharge to ground must not be in Source Protection Zone 1. It must not be within 50 metres of another exempt discharge. Protected-site limits also apply. Check the Environment Agency’s full rules for sewage discharges to ground before you design the system.
A drainage field must meet the relevant standards, including BS 6297:2007. The Environment Agency’s rules also cover drainage mounds and engineered ground. A rainwater soakaway, well or borehole is not a lawful shortcut for sewage disposal. Get expert advice on your site’s soil and groundwater before you choose a design.
Check whether a public foul sewer is close enough that a connection is required where reasonable. The test uses a 30-metre distance for a single property, with a different calculation for developments and non-domestic flows. If you connect to the public sewer, the small-discharge rules no longer apply.
Get building regulations approval for a new sewage system. You may also need planning permission. A permanent below-ground tank or drainage field can need its own planning permission, even if you are using the 60-day permitted development right. Do not assume Class BC covers permanent infrastructure.
Arrange regular maintenance by a competent engineer. Have the system desludged at least once a year, or as often as the manufacturer requires, using a registered waste carrier. Keep the records. Tell a new owner in writing about the system if you sell.
In Wales, check the Natural Resources Wales registration rules. Eligible systems usually need a one-off, free registration. For discharge to ground, the site must meet the location and design rules and discharge less than 2,000 litres a day. For surface water, use a package treatment plant and meet the relevant limits.
Elsan disposal point campsite: handle waste properly
Set up a suitable elsan disposal point if you accept chemical toilet cassettes or portable loos. Plan where waste will be stored and how a contractor will remove it. Use a registered waste carrier, meet your waste duty of care and keep the waste records.
Do not pour cassette waste into a storm drain, watercourse, ordinary soakaway or a sewage system that is not designed and authorised to receive it. For most campsites, a proper disposal point and tanker collection is the practical route.
Burial is not a normal campsite solution. The D3 waste exemption has a strict limit of 1 cubic metre in 12 months, applies only at the place where the waste was produced, requires registration and sets distance limits from watercourses and water sources. It does not allow you to bring waste in from elsewhere. Never spread cesspool or chemical toilet waste directly on farmland.
Campsite facilities checklist
Before opening, check these items:
- Show toilets and waste-disposal facilities on the plan you send the council.
- Confirm your dates, pitch numbers and any site-licence requirements.
- Place taps and waste-water points within the distances set by your site conditions.
- Arrange council checks for any private water supply before guests arrive.
- Calculate sewage flows for the full site, then confirm the system’s capacity.
- Check sewer connection rules, discharge limits, protected sites and nearby water supplies.
- Confirm planning and building regulations approval for permanent infrastructure.
- Set up lawful chemical-toilet storage, collection and disposal.
- Keep maintenance, sampling and waste-transfer records.
These checks help you plan your campsite facilities and planning permission together, instead of fixing gaps after opening.
Join the Open Sky Adventure community and sign up on our website to discuss your land and your options.
We will happily help you, signup live now if you have an interest in joining our license agreement.