Welcome. Planning a pop-up campsite on your farm, pub, hotel, or rural land? Check flood risk first.
Flood Zones 2 and 3 change the process.
In England, you may use Class BC permitted development rights, but you need prior approval before opening.
In Wales, Class BA does not cover land in Flood Zones 2 or 3. You need a full planning application.
Do not rely on the old 28-day rule. Check the route for your site, prepare the right documents, and plan your opening date around the legal timetable.
England: Class BC and Flood Zones 2 and 3
Class BC allows temporary recreational campsites for up to 60 days in a calendar year.
The right can cover:
- Tented camping
- Motorhomes and campervans within the permitted definition
- Up to 50 pitches
- Temporary moveable structures needed for the campsite
- On-site toilet and waste facilities
It does not give permission for permanent buildings, hardstanding, tracks, or fixed facilities.
It also does not cover every site.
If any part of the proposed campsite sits in Flood Zone 2 or Flood Zone 3, Class BC becomes subject to prior approval from your local planning authority.
You need approval each calendar year that you use the land.
Read the Class BC legislation before you submit anything.
Start with the Environment Agency Flood Map for Planning
Check the flood zone before you choose pitches, access points, or facilities.
Use the Environment Agency Flood Map for Planning.
Search for the site postcode or location. Check the proposed campsite boundary, not only the farmhouse or main building.
Look for:
- Flood Zone 1
- Flood Zone 2
- Flood Zone 3
- Flood Zone 3b, where shown through local planning information
- Flood risk from rivers and the sea
- Surface water risk
- Main rivers
- Flood defences
- Areas within 20 metres of a main river
The map is a screening tool. It is not a substitute for a site visit or a flood risk assessment.
Also check the long-term flood risk service. It covers rivers, the sea, surface water, reservoirs, and groundwater where data is available.
Save a dated copy of the map. Add it to your project records. Flood mapping can change.
Then speak to your local planning authority. Ask whether any local flood map, strategic flood risk assessment, Article 4 Direction, planning condition, or local restriction affects the land.
What goes into the prior approval application?
Use the Planning Portal prior approval form for a temporary recreational campsite in Flood Zone 2 or 3.
Your submission should include:
- A completed application form
- The correct fee
- A clear site plan
- Proposed pitch locations
- Dates of use
- Number of pitches
- Toilet and waste arrangements
- Access and parking details
- A site-specific flood risk assessment
- Warning and evacuation arrangements
Keep the plan clear.
Show the river, field boundaries, roads, gates, low points, higher ground, facilities, pitch areas, assembly point, and evacuation route.
Make sure the dates stay within the 60-day annual limit.
Remember that each day the campsite is set up may count towards the limit. Guests do not need to be present for the day to matter.
Make the flood risk assessment site-specific
Do not submit a generic flood document copied from another field.
Your flood risk assessment should explain the actual site and the proposed use.
Cover:
- Flood sources
Assess rivers, the sea, surface water, groundwater, reservoirs, drainage systems, and any nearby watercourse.
- Flood probability
Use the Environment Agency data. Explain the flood zone. Note the limits of the available data.
- Site layout
Show why pitches, toilets, parking, and communal areas sit where they do. Keep people and equipment away from the highest-risk areas where possible.
- Flood depth and flow
Use available local information. Consider how water may enter, move across, and leave the land.
- Safe access and escape
Show routes to higher ground. Confirm that routes remain usable during the relevant flood conditions. Do not rely on a route that crosses a low bridge or flooded lane.
- Warning systems
Explain how you will receive flood warnings. Include the responsible person, contact method, weather checks, and trigger points.
- Evacuation
State when you will stop arrivals, close the site, move guests, and contact emergency services. Include arrangements for children, older guests, disabled guests, and anyone with limited mobility.
- Flood impact elsewhere
Explain whether the use, temporary structures, vehicles, or stored materials could block flow or increase flood risk on neighbouring land.
- Clean-up and pollution
Show how you will secure fuel, gas, chemicals, waste, and toilets before a flood. Prevent sewage or waste from entering the watercourse.
The Environment Agency flood risk standing advice explains what authorities look for in flood risk assessments.
The Environment Agency campsite flood guidance also covers flood plans, site maps, staff training, warning signs, and evacuation.
The Environment Agency consultation
Your local planning authority must consult the Environment Agency on a Class BC prior approval application for land in Flood Zone 2 or 3.
The authority must give the Environment Agency at least 21 days to respond.
The Environment Agency may comment on:
- The flood zone
- The flood risk assessment
- Safe access and escape
- Warning systems
- Evacuation
- Site layout
- Flood risk to other land
- Whether the campsite use is safe
Build this time into your programme.
The 21-day consultation is not your opening permission. It is part of the decision process.
The planning authority must consider the Environment Agency response before deciding the prior approval application.
The 56-day decision period
The Class BC process has a maximum period of 56 days.
You cannot start the campsite before either:
- You receive written prior approval from the local planning authority, or
- 56 days pass from the date the authority receives the application without the authority notifying you whether prior approval is granted or refused
Do not count from the day you post the form.
Get confirmation that the authority received the application. Keep the receipt, email, reference number, plans, and documents.
Apply early.
A spring opening needs an earlier application. A busy bank holiday does not change the legal timetable.
If the authority grants approval, follow the approved plans and any conditions.
If the authority refuses the application, do not open under Class BC. Consider a revised proposal, a full planning application, or a different field.
What happened to the 28-day rule?
The old 28-day rule is no longer the main route for an ordinary pop-up campsite in England.
Class BC provides the specific route for temporary recreational campsites, subject to its conditions.
Do not assume that 28 days means you can open without checking:
- The use
- The land
- The flood zone
- The number of pitches
- The type of units
- Any local restriction
- Any planning condition
- Any campsite licence requirement
Use the correct permitted development right. Ask your local planning authority if the position is unclear.
Wales: Class BA excludes Flood Zones 2 and 3
The position differs in Wales.
The 2026 Welsh temporary campsite permitted development right is known as Class BA.
It may allow temporary campsite use for up to 60 days on eligible land. A lower 28-day limit applies in some protected areas, such as National Parks, National Landscapes, and World Heritage Sites.
But the flood rule is direct.
Class BA does not apply to land in Flood Zone 2 or Flood Zone 3.
That means you cannot use the Welsh temporary campsite permitted development route on that land. You cannot rely on a 28-day campsite rule as a workaround.
You need a full planning application.
Check the Welsh Government guidance on permitted development rights for temporary campsites.
Use the Natural Resources Wales Flood Map for Planning for Welsh land.
The map includes river, sea, surface water, small watercourse, defended zone, and recorded flood extent information.
A defended area is not automatically safe for development. You may still need a flood consequences assessment and evidence that the site can operate safely.
Choose a drier field when possible
Moving the campsite may be the simplest option.
Check another field on the farm. Consider land near the pub, hotel, or rural business. Keep the proposed pitches outside Flood Zones 2 and 3 where possible.
A drier field may avoid:
- England Class BC prior approval
- The 21-day Environment Agency consultation
- The 56-day decision wait
- A full Welsh planning application
- Extra flood assessment work
- Delayed opening
Still check surface water, drainage, access, waste, and local restrictions.
A field outside Flood Zones 2 and 3 is not automatically suitable. Confirm the full planning position before you advertise or take bookings.
Plan your 2026 opening now
Use this checklist:
- Identify the country and local planning authority.
- Check the correct flood map.
- Mark the full campsite boundary.
- Count the proposed days and pitches.
- Check the Class BC or Class BA restrictions.
- Prepare the site plan.
- Write the flood risk assessment.
- Set out warning and evacuation arrangements.
- Submit the correct application.
- Wait for the legal decision period.
- Open only when the rules allow it.
- Check campsite licensing and other permits.
For England, review the Open Sky Adventure legal guidance and speak to your local planning authority.
For Wales, use full planning permission for any campsite proposal in Flood Zone 2 or 3.
This is planning guidance, not legal advice. Get professional advice for a complex site, a watercourse, a protected area, or a proposal involving permanent facilities.
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