Hello, farmer, landowner, or rural business owner. You already have the land. Now use it with care.
Farm diversification camping can create a new income stream. It can also create planning, safety, and licensing problems if you act too soon.
Follow the rules. Check your site. Start small. Build a campsite that works for your land, your guests, and your local community.
This guide explains the main 2026 routes in England and Wales.
Important: Planning and licensing rules can change. Check the current position with your Local Planning Authority, licensing team, and professional adviser before opening.
Why consider farm diversification camping?
Farming income can change with weather, markets, and operating costs.
Camping gives you another option.
You can use part of your land for:
- Tent pitches
- Campervan pitches
- Motorhome stays
- Guided outdoor activities
- Wildlife and hiking experiences
- Group camping
- Corporate team activities
- Seasonal rural tourism
Start with a temporary campsite. Test demand before you build permanent facilities.
Use the quiet parts of your land. Avoid areas needed for livestock, machinery, crops, or conservation work.
Keep the operation simple. Offer safe access, clear information, clean facilities, and a reliable booking process.
Read Open Sky Adventure’s guide to unlocking your land and its potential.
Understand the 28-day rule first
The 28-day rule is a permitted development right for temporary use of land.
It has often been used for short camping trials. It allows certain temporary uses for up to 28 days in a calendar year, subject to the wording and limits of the relevant General Permitted Development Order.
Do not treat it as a blanket camping licence.
The rules differ between England and Wales in 2026.
In England, camping was removed from the general Class B route, except where it relates to a festival, after the transition period ended on 25 July 2024.
England now has a specific camping route under Class BC.
In Wales, the old 28-day camping position applied until the new Class BA rules came into force on 1 June 2026. From 1 September 2026, camping is dealt with under Class BA rather than the old general Class B camping route.
Check the exact wording in the:
England: use Class BC for a temporary campsite
Class BC is the main permitted development route for temporary recreational campsites in England.
It allows you to use land as a recreational campsite for up to:
- 60 days in total each calendar year
- 50 pitches
- Tents, campervans, and motorhomes
The pitches do not need to operate on consecutive days. Plan the season around demand.
You can provide moveable structures that are reasonably necessary for the campsite.
This may include:
- Portable toilets
- Temporary showers
- Handwashing points
- Waste facilities
- A reception shelter
- Temporary signs
Do not assume Class BC permits permanent buildings, hardstanding, roads, drainage works, or fixed accommodation.
Those works may need separate planning permission.
Class BC conditions in England
Follow every condition.
You must:
- Provide on-site toilet facilities.
- Provide waste-disposal facilities.
- Notify your Local Planning Authority in writing before the campsite opens each calendar year.
- Submit a site plan.
- Show the toilets and waste facilities on the site plan.
- State the dates when the site will operate.
Your site plan should also show pitches, access, parking, emergency access, water points, waste storage, and any nearby hazards.
Keep a copy of your notice. Keep a record of operating dates. Do not rely on memory.
Class BC does not apply to certain land, including:
- Scheduled monuments
- Safety hazard areas
- Military explosives storage areas
- Sites of Special Scientific Interest
- Sites of a listed building
It also does not cover traditional touring caravans. The caravan must be a motor vehicle designed or adapted for human habitation, such as a motorhome.
When England needs prior approval
Flood risk matters.
If the proposed campsite is in Flood Zone 2 or Flood Zone 3, you need prior approval from the Local Planning Authority before opening each year.
Submit:
- A site-specific flood risk assessment
- Flood warning arrangements
- An evacuation plan
- The required fee
- Your site layout and operating details
The council must consult the Environment Agency.
Do not open while the prior approval process is still unresolved.
Read the full Class BC campsite guide for England.
Wales: understand Class BA
Wales introduced Class BA for temporary recreational campsites from 1 June 2026.
The number of permitted days depends on the site location.
Most land in Wales
Class BA allows up to:
- 60 days in total each calendar year
- Moveable structures needed for the campsite
- Tents, campervans, and motorhomes
Protected landscapes in Wales
Land within a:
- National Park
- Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- World Heritage Site
has a limit of:
- 28 days in total each calendar year
Check your land boundary. A site near a protected landscape may fall under a different limit.
Class BA exclusions
Class BA does not apply to several sensitive locations.
These include:
- Scheduled monuments
- Special Areas of Conservation
- Safety hazard areas
- Military explosives storage areas
- Sites of Special Scientific Interest
- Ramsar sites
- Sites of listed buildings
- Special Protection Areas
- Flood Zones 2 and 3
- Land within 100 metres of a protected dwelling, subject to the statutory exceptions
Traditional caravans are not covered. Motorhomes may qualify where they meet the legal definition.
Wales requires a prior approval check
Class BA uses a two-stage process.
Before you begin each calendar year, apply to your Local Planning Authority for a determination.
Submit a site plan showing:
- Toilets and wastewater facilities
- Waste-disposal facilities
- Pitch and amenity locations
- Highway access
- Operating dates
The council has 28 days to respond.
The council may decide that prior approval is not required.
It may also decide that prior approval is required.
This can happen where the campsite may create a material increase or change in local traffic.
If prior approval is required, submit the extra information requested by the council.
Do not open until written prior approval is granted.
Plan for this time. Do not leave it until the week before your first booking.
Check for an Article 4 Direction. This can remove permitted development rights in a local area.
For example, the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority removed permitted development rights for certain temporary 28-day camping, caravan, and mobile home sites from 1 January 2026. Read the Authority’s guidance.
Separate planning from licensing
Permitted development rights deal with planning permission.
They do not remove every other legal duty.
You may also need to consider:
- A campsite licence
- Caravan site licensing
- Public health requirements
- Fire safety
- Insurance
- Food registration
- Waste collection
- Water supply
- Septic tank or wastewater controls
- Electrical safety
- Employment rules
- Outdoor activity risk assessments
- Public rights of way
- Environmental restrictions
Exemption certificates can create a separate route for some camping activities and organisations.
Check whether your planned operation qualifies. Do not assume that a certificate covers every guest, pitch, activity, or commercial arrangement.
Open Sky Adventure can help you review your options through its legal guidance page.
Make the campsite profitable
Legal compliance comes first. Then build the numbers.
Start with a simple forecast.
List:
- Number of pitches
- Operating days
- Expected occupancy
- Pitch price
- Booking fees
- Cleaning costs
- Toilet hire
- Waste collection
- Insurance
- Staff time
- Maintenance
- Marketing
- Payment costs
- Tax
Use conservative occupancy figures.
Do not fill every possible pitch on day one. Start with the part of the field that offers the best access and least disruption.
Review bookings every week. Track revenue per pitch. Track the cost of each booking.
Remove services that cost more than they return. Add services only when guests ask for them and your site can support them.
You can increase income through simple extras:
- Firewood
- Breakfast boxes
- Guided walks
- Wildlife sessions
- Equipment hire
- Group activities
- Local food partnerships
Keep every extra safe, insured, and within the relevant permissions.
Use this 2026 campsite checklist
Before investing
- Confirm whether your land is in England or Wales.
- Check the current permitted development route.
- Check the 28-day position.
- Check Class BC or Class BA eligibility.
- Check flood zones.
- Check protected designations.
- Check Article 4 Directions.
- Contact your Local Planning Authority.
- Contact the licensing team.
- Speak to your insurer.
Before opening
- Draw a clear site plan.
- Mark every pitch.
- Provide toilets and waste facilities.
- Plan emergency access.
- Create fire and evacuation procedures.
- Set guest rules.
- Prepare arrival instructions.
- Arrange waste collection.
- Record operating dates.
- Submit all required notices or applications.
- Wait for prior approval where required.
During operation
- Keep the site within the approved layout.
- Count every operating day.
- Monitor waste.
- Check facilities daily.
- Record incidents.
- Manage noise.
- Protect livestock and wildlife.
- Keep access routes clear.
- Ask guests to follow the Countryside Code.
- Close the site if conditions become unsafe.
Start with the right partner
Farm diversification camping can work.
It needs a clear plan.
Choose the correct legal route. Keep facilities temporary where required. Record your dates. Check your land. Protect your guests and your business.
Open Sky Adventure provides local knowledge, safety planning, outdoor activity support, and licensed camping guidance for landowners, farmers, and hospitality businesses.
We will happily help you, signup live now if you have an interest in joining our license agreement.
Contact Open Sky Adventure and share your site address, location pin, land description, and plans.
Start with the facts. Then turn your land into a safe, compliant campsite.