Glamping structures planning permission: start with the caravan definition
Hello, farmer, hospitality owner or rural landowner. Before you buy a glamping unit, find out how planning law may classify it.
“Glamping structure” is not a formal planning category. A pod, yurt or shepherd’s hut may be treated as a caravan, a tent or a building, depending on its design and how you site and use it.
Get this wrong and you may choose the wrong planning route. You may also lose access to temporary campsite permitted development rights.
This guide explains the main test as at October 2026. Check your proposal with your local planning authority (LPA) before you invest. This is general information, not legal advice.
Why the definition matters
The legal classification affects what you can do next.
If your unit qualifies as a caravan, caravan-site planning rules may apply. A caravan site licence may also be required, unless an exemption applies. Check both requirements with your LPA and licensing authority.
If the unit is a building, putting it on land may count as operational development. You may need planning permission to site it. Commercial use of the land may also need permission, even if the unit itself can move.
Do not rely on a supplier’s label. “Mobile”, “towable” or “temporary” does not settle the legal test.
The legal test for a caravan: structure, mobility and dimensions
Under section 29(1) of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, a caravan is broadly a structure designed or adapted for people to live in that can move from place to place, whether towed or carried on a vehicle or trailer. The definition also includes a motor vehicle designed or adapted for habitation.
The section excludes railway rolling stock on rails and, importantly, any tent. A tent is not a caravan under this definition.
For a single unit, look at its design and whether it is genuinely capable of being moved. For a twin-unit, apply the specific rules in section 13 of the Caravan Sites Act 1968.
Twin-unit caravans: the current three limits
The twin-unit rule covers a structure made of no more than two separately built sections. Those sections must be designed to join on site using bolts, clamps or similar fittings. Once assembled, the structure must be physically capable of being moved by road.
The current maximum assembled dimensions in England and Wales are:
- 20 metres long, excluding any drawbar
- 6.8 metres wide
- 3.05 metres high internally, measured from the floor at the lowest level to the ceiling at the highest
Exceed any one of these limits and the structure falls outside the twin-unit caravan definition.
You may see older figures online, including 18.288 metres, 6.096 metres and 3.048 metres. Do not use those as the current England and Wales limits. Check the latest wording of section 13 before specifying a unit.
Tent or caravan? Yurts, tepees and safari tents
A tent is expressly excluded from the statutory caravan definition. A canvas yurt, tepee or safari tent may therefore be closer to the tent category than a hard-sided pod.
That does not settle the planning question. Groundworks, a fixed deck, permanent services or a long-term commercial use may still need planning permission. Assess the land use and any building or engineering works separately.
Eryri National Park Authority lists pods, yurts, tepees, safari tents and shepherd’s huts as possible temporary or mobile glamping accommodation. Its glamping guidance says permitted development rights depend on the nature of the unit, its permanence and how long it is used.
Pods and shepherd’s huts: the permanence problem
Wheels do not guarantee caravan status or permitted development.
A shepherd’s hut may still need planning permission, particularly when you use it commercially on agricultural land. Plumbing and electricity can strengthen the impression that it is fixed in place. A hut within a home’s curtilage and used for domestic purposes may be incidental to the dwelling, but assess that use on its facts.
Glamping pods also often need full planning permission when they form part of a commercial site. A towable pod may meet the caravan definition, yet the campsite use or associated works may still require permission.
Look at the whole proposal. Ask:
- Can you move the unit in a practical way?
- Is it fixed to a permanent base?
- Is it part of a commercial campsite?
- Have you added services, access works or permanent facilities?
A unit’s construction matters. So does what you do with it.
What Class BC and Class BA actually allow your unit to do
England’s Class BC permits certain recreational campsites for up to 60 days in a calendar year, with no more than 50 pitches. It excludes the siting of caravans, except a caravan that is a motor vehicle designed or adapted for habitation.
So, if your towable pod or shepherd’s hut is legally a caravan, Class BC will not provide the route for siting it. A tent may fit the temporary campsite approach, subject to all relevant rules and conditions.
In Wales, Class BA provides a temporary campsite right under the 2026 Welsh amendment. It allows up to 60 days in a calendar year in many areas, and up to 28 days in a National Park, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or World Heritage Site. It also excludes caravans, except qualifying motor vehicles.
Class BA has its own exclusions and application steps. These include limits related to flood zones and land within 100 metres of a protected dwelling, as well as an annual application asking the LPA whether prior approval is required. Read the current order and confirm your site’s eligibility before you advertise dates.
The key point is simple: buying a unit that counts as a caravan can close the Class BC or Class BA route.
The operational development trap: bases, tracks and services
Temporary campsite rights do not automatically authorise permanent construction.
Hardstanding, concrete plinths, tracks, hook-up points, plumbed-in services and permanent toilet or shower blocks may amount to operational development. They may need separate planning permission, even when the accommodation itself is moveable.
Eryri’s guidance is clear on this point: temporary use rights do not permit permanent bases, hardstanding, tracks, hook-up points or permanent toilet and shower facilities.
Do not treat a temporary campsite allowance as permission for every part of your project. Check the campsite use, each structure and every associated work.
How to find out where you stand: apply for a Lawful Development Certificate
Get a decision before you place an order or start site works.
Apply to your LPA for a Lawful Development Certificate. Provide drawings, the unit’s dimensions, details of its construction and assembly, how it can be moved, proposed services, and the intended use of the land. Ask the authority to determine whether the proposal is lawful as described.
A certificate gives you a formal decision for the facts and plans you submit. It is not a substitute for planning permission where permission is needed. Keep the application precise, and disclose all planned works and commercial use.
For wider context on temporary campsite rules, read our guide to Class BC and Class BA prior approval. You can also review our legal information.
Glamping structure compliance checklist
Before you commit, check each point:
- Identify whether the unit is a tent, single caravan, twin-unit caravan or building.
- For a twin-unit, confirm there are no more than two sections and check all three current dimensions.
- Record how the unit can be moved after assembly.
- List bases, decks, hardstanding, tracks, utilities and toilet or shower facilities.
- Check the land-use and campsite rules with your LPA.
- Check whether caravan-site licensing applies, or whether an exemption is available.
- Confirm whether Class BC or Class BA applies, and whether your unit is excluded.
- Seek a Lawful Development Certificate before investing.
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