Hello, farmer, pub owner, hotel operator or rural landowner.
Wales is now live under Class BA.
The transition ended on 1 September 2026.
You must now follow the new process before using land as a temporary recreational campsite.
Do not rely on the old 28-day rule for ordinary camping.
Check your land, check the limits, notify the local planning authority, then prepare your site.
What Class BA allows
Class BA creates a new permitted development right for temporary recreational campsites in Wales.
It allows:
- Up to 60 days per calendar year outside protected landscapes.
- Up to 28 days per calendar year inside National Parks, National Landscapes and World Heritage Sites.
- Tents.
- Motorhomes and campervans.
- Moveable structures that are reasonably needed for the campsite.
The limit applies to the total use of the land.
It is not 60 days per pitch.
It is not 60 days per event.
Count all campsite days between 1 January and 31 December.
You need a new notification for every calendar year in which you plan to operate.
Read the official Class BA legislation before you commit to dates or spending.
The 60-day rule and the 28-day rule
Your location decides your annual limit.
| Location | Maximum use |
|---|---|
| Outside a National Park, National Landscape or World Heritage Site | 60 days |
| Inside a National Park, National Landscape or World Heritage Site | 28 days |
National Landscapes were previously known as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Check the designation before you plan your season.
If any part of the land falls within a protected landscape, use the lower limit for that land.
Do not carry unused days into the next year.
Do not add days from different fields unless the planning position supports that approach.
Ask your local planning authority if the site boundary or designation is unclear.
What changed on 1 September 2026?
The transitional period has ended.
From 1 September 2026, all Class BA sites in Wales must use the annual prior notification process.
This applies inside and outside protected landscapes.
You must apply to the local planning authority before beginning the development in each calendar year.
Your application asks the authority to decide whether prior approval is required.
It must cover:
- Toilet and wastewater arrangements.
- Waste disposal arrangements.
- Vehicular access to the site.
- The position of pitches and amenities.
- The dates when the campsite will operate.
- A site plan.
- Any required fee.
Use the Welsh Government Class BA notification form.
Submit it early.
Do not wait until bookings are open.
Allow 28 days for the LPA
The local planning authority has a 28-day determination window.
The 28 days starts when it receives a valid application.
The authority can:
- Confirm that prior approval is not required.
- Ask for more information because the application is incomplete.
- Decide that prior approval is required.
You must not start the campsite before one of these points:
- You receive written notice that prior approval is not required.
- 28 days pass without the authority notifying you that the application is invalid or giving its determination.
- You receive written prior approval after making the further application.
If the authority requires prior approval, wait for the written approval.
Then operate only in line with the approved details.
Build your timetable around this process.
Do not treat the application as a formality.
Check the 100-metre buffer
Class BA does not permit campsite use on land within 100 metres of a protected dwelling.
A protected dwelling is a house or flat occupied by someone other than the campsite owner or operator.
The owner’s own occupied home is excluded from this definition.
A neighbour’s home can still count.
A separate occupied flat can still count.
A dwelling linked to a pub, hotel or farm can still count.
Measure the proposed camping area against the protected dwelling.
Do not measure only from the main commercial building.
Do not assume that a large field avoids the rule.
For many pubs and hotels, the best candidate land sits behind or beside the main building.
That building may be close to occupied residential accommodation.
Take these steps:
- Identify every nearby dwelling.
- Confirm who occupies each dwelling.
- Mark the 100-metre distance on a scaled plan.
- Exclude any camping area within the buffer.
- Move the pitches beyond 100 metres.
- Ask the LPA to confirm your interpretation.
A private access way can pass through the buffer where the operator has a legal right of access or egress.
Camping cannot take place there.
Check every exclusion
Class BA cannot be used on land:
- In Flood Zone 2 or Flood Zone 3.
- On a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
- In a Special Area of Conservation.
- In a Special Protection Area.
- On a Ramsar site.
- On a scheduled monument.
- On the site of a listed building.
- In a safety hazard area.
- In a military explosives storage area.
- Within 100 metres of a protected dwelling, except for a private way.
- For touring caravans, static caravans or mobile homes.
Check the Flood Map for Wales.
Check environmental designations.
Check heritage records.
Check local planning constraints.
If an exclusion applies, Class BA does not give you consent.
You may need full planning permission.
Know which units you can accept
Class BA does not cover every camping unit.
You can plan for:
- Tents.
- Motorhomes.
- Campervans.
- Converted vans designed or adapted for human habitation.
You cannot rely on Class BA for:
- Touring caravans.
- Static caravans.
- Mobile homes.
This matters to farmers and hospitality businesses.
A motorhome pitch is not the same as a touring caravan pitch.
A static unit is not a moveable campsite structure.
Describe the units clearly in your site plan.
Ask for advice before you advertise them.
Special warning for Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park has an Article 4 Direction for temporary campsites.
The Authority introduced it on 1 January 2026.
It removes permitted development rights for certain temporary campsite uses within the National Park.
The new Class BA process now applies to qualifying temporary recreational campsites, but the Article 4 position still matters.
You must notify the Authority.
You must check the local direction.
You must check whether your proposed units fall within Class BA.
The Authority confirms that touring caravans, static caravans and mobile homes still need planning permission within the National Park.
Read the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park guidance before you proceed.
A practical checklist for pubs, hotels and farms
Use this order.
1. Choose the field
Pick land away from occupied homes.
Pick land outside Flood Zones 2 and 3.
Avoid protected sites and heritage constraints.
Check access from the public highway.
2. Decide your use
Choose tents, motorhomes or campervans.
Do not include touring caravans or static units under Class BA.
Set your annual dates.
Count the total days.
Use 60 days outside protected landscapes.
Use 28 days inside them.
3. Draw the plan
Show:
- Site boundaries.
- Pitches.
- Toilets.
- Wastewater arrangements.
- Waste storage.
- Vehicular access.
- Nearby dwellings.
- The 100-metre buffer.
- Operating dates.
Make the plan easy to read.
Use a scale.
Label each feature.
4. Contact the authority
Speak to the LPA before you submit.
Ask about local forms.
Ask about fees.
Ask about Article 4 Directions.
Ask how the authority measures the buffer.
Ask about the 28-day response period.
5. Submit early
Send the annual notification before the season.
Allow 28 days.
Allow more time if prior approval is required.
Do not take non-refundable bookings first.
How Open Sky Adventure can help
Class BA gives landowners a route to temporary camping.
It also creates checks that you must complete.
Open Sky Adventure helps farmers, pubs, hotels and rural landowners review their options, organise site information and plan a compliant camping offer.
We can help you assess:
- The 28-day or 60-day limit.
- The 100-metre buffer.
- Site exclusions.
- Pitches and access.
- Toilet and wastewater arrangements.
- Waste management.
- The annual notification process.
- Whether an Open Sky Adventure license agreement may suit your plans.
A licence does not remove the need to check planning law.
Review both routes before you open.
Visit Unlock Your Land and Potential or contact Open Sky Adventure.
We will happily help you, signup live now if you have an interest in joining our license agreement.
Final action list
Do this now:
- Stop relying on the old 28-day camping rule.
- Check whether your land qualifies for Class BA.
- Confirm the 28-day or 60-day limit.
- Measure from protected dwellings.
- Move pitches beyond 100 metres where needed.
- Remove touring and static caravans from the plan.
- Check flood, nature, heritage and safety exclusions.
- Contact the LPA.
- Submit your annual notification before the season.
- Allow the full 28-day determination window.
- Join the Open Sky Adventure group.
- Sign up on the website.