Meta description: Planning a flood zone campsite in England? Check Class BC, prepare your flood risk assessment and follow the 2026 prior approval steps.
Hello, landowner. Planning a temporary campsite on low-lying land? Check the flood zone before you buy tents or set an opening date.
In England, a site in Flood Zone 2 or 3 needs prior approval every calendar year before development starts. The application must include a site-specific flood risk assessment, including warning and evacuation arrangements.
This guide covers that flood-zone test. For the wider annual application process, read our Class BC and Class BA application guide.
Does your land flood? Check first
Check your site on the Flood Map for Planning. It shows flood risk from rivers and the sea in England. Use it to check whether any part of your proposed campsite falls within Flood Zone 2 or 3.
Then check wider flood risks. Use the government’s long-term flood risk service to review rivers, the sea, surface water, reservoirs and groundwater where information is available.
Do this before you buy tents, make bookings or plan your season. If your site is in Flood Zone 2 or 3, budget for the £249 fee and allow time for the application process.
Check your site’s other planning limits too. Class BC generally allows up to 60 days of campsite use per calendar year and up to 50 pitches. Some sites may have other restrictions, including an Article 4 Direction or existing planning conditions.
What Class BC demands in flood zones
Under Class BC of the English GPDO, a recreational campsite in Flood Zone 2 or 3 needs prior approval from the local planning authority (LPA) before development starts in each calendar year.
That means you must apply again for every year you plan to operate in a flood zone. Approval for one season does not carry over to the next.
Class BC also requires you to notify the LPA in writing before starting development each year. Send a site plan showing the toilet and waste facilities, and the dates the site will be in use. Provide on-site toilet and waste-disposal facilities, and stay within the 60-day and 50-pitch limits.
Count days carefully. Cornwall Council advises that each day temporary facilities remain on the land counts towards the 60-day limit, even when the campsite is empty. Check with your own LPA how it applies the rule to your site.
The flood risk assessment explained
Your flood risk assessment campsite application must include a site-specific flood risk assessment (FRA). Under Class BC.3, it must set out how you will provide warnings and evacuate people.
An FRA is not just a description of the field. Explain how flooding could affect the site and how you will keep everyone safe. Review the Environment Agency’s FRA standing advice and its campsite flood-risk guidance.
Include:
- Your site address, campsite layout and proposed operating dates.
- Flood-risk information for the site, including relevant sources such as rivers, the sea and surface water.
- A clear site map with evacuation routes, assembly points and key safety locations.
- Your warning process, evacuation steps and the person responsible for decisions.
- How you will help guests who need extra support, including children, older people and people with limited mobility or health needs.
Focus on the people who will sleep there. Tents offer little protection, and guests may be asleep when a flood warning arrives. The LPA and Environment Agency are not just considering a building. They are considering how you will protect sleepers and get them to safety.
Build a clear warning and evacuation plan
Make the plan specific to your land. Name a person or team to activate it, make decisions, contact guests and staff, and liaise with public authorities.
Show where to switch off gas and electricity. Mark safe evacuation routes, traffic arrangements, assembly points, a crisis centre, which may be off-site, and the location of life rings. Share the plan with your council’s emergency planners.
Sign up for flood warnings by phone, text or email. Train staff so they know their roles and how to communicate during an emergency. Display warning signs and the site map where guests can see them, and explain the flood risk and evacuation steps when guests arrive.
Consider how to reduce risk. Put tents on higher ground where possible. Plan to move tents off site before or during a flood only if it is safe to do so. Store gas cylinders and pollutants away from flood-risk areas. Consider whether temporary barriers suit your site and warning arrangements.
For advice, contact Floodline on 0345 988 1188.
The application, step by step
1. Set your dates and check your plan
Work back from your intended opening day. The Environment Agency must have at least 21 days to respond to the LPA’s consultation. The LPA’s process allows up to 56 days. Submit your application weeks before opening, and leave time to fix any missing information.
2. Complete Form 068 and pay the fee
Use Planning Portal Form 068 for a temporary recreational campsite in Flood Zone 2 or 3. The current fee is £249. Include the site-specific FRA with its warning and evacuation arrangements, and check your LPA’s submission requirements.
3. Allow for Environment Agency consultation
Once the LPA receives your application, it must notify and consult the Environment Agency. The notice must give the Agency at least 21 days to respond.
The LPA must take the Environment Agency’s response into account. It must also have regard to the relevant National Planning Policy Framework, as if it were considering a planning application. The current NPPF applies.
4. Wait for a decision, then read the conditions
Do not start before you receive written prior approval. The legislation also allows development to begin once 56 days have passed from receipt of the application if the LPA has not told you whether approval is given or refused.
Silence is not the same as written approval. If the Environment Agency has raised concerns, or you are unsure what the delay means for your proposal, do not gamble on opening. Ask the LPA for its position and get advice.
The LPA may approve your application with conditions. Read them, record them and follow them for the season. They may affect how you operate the site.
If the LPA refuses approval, do not open under Class BC on that basis. Get advice on your options before proceeding.
Wales: the permitted route is different
Do not apply England’s Class BC process to a Welsh site. Under the Welsh 2026 rules, Class BA outright excludes land in Flood Zones 2 or 3. The exclusion is set out in S.I. 2026/79, which defines the zones by reference to the Flood Map for Wales and TAN 15.
In short: England has a prior-approval route for eligible Class BC campsites in Flood Zones 2 and 3. Wales does not have a permitted camping route for those flood-zone sites. You will need to seek full planning permission.
Repeat the process every year
Put the application in your annual planning calendar. Each year, check the flood mapping again, review your FRA and evacuation plan, confirm your operating dates, and make the required submissions before development starts.
Remember the temporary campsite 60 days rule. Count the days facilities remain on the land, not just the days guests stay. Keep copies of notices, plans, decisions, conditions and operating dates.
This is a key part of camping legislation UK 2026 and permitted development rights campsite UK compliance. For farmers considering farm diversification camping, check your local requirements before committing to the season.
Class BC flood-zone checklist
- Check the Flood Map for Planning and wider long-term flood risks.
- Confirm the site is eligible for Class BC and check for other restrictions.
- Set dates within the 60-day limit and keep to 50 pitches or fewer.
- Prepare a site-specific FRA with a clear warning and evacuation plan.
- Name a flood warden, sign up for warnings and brief guests on arrival.
- Submit Form 068 and the £249 fee well before opening.
- Wait for written approval where possible, and follow every condition.
- Repeat the process before development starts in each calendar year.
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