Meta description: Learn how the 100m buffer zone works under Class BA camping Wales rules in 2026, including site measurement, 28-day and 60-day limits, prior approval and farm diversification camping.
Hello, farmer, pub owner, hotel operator or rural landowner.
Your Welsh land may support camping.
Check the buffer first.
The Class BA camping Wales rules changed on 1 September 2026. They now provide a specific permitted development route for temporary recreational campsites.
The main rule is clear.
You cannot use land within 100 metres of a protected dwelling, except for an existing private way.
Use this guide to check your site, plan your layout and avoid common mistakes.
This is practical guidance, not legal advice. Confirm your position with your local planning authority, licensing team and insurer.
What Class BA camping Wales allows in 2026
Class BA sits in Part 4 of Schedule 2 to the Welsh General Permitted Development Order.
It allows temporary recreational camping:
- For up to 60 days per calendar year on most land in Wales
- For up to 28 days per calendar year in a National Park, National Landscape or World Heritage Site
- With moveable structures reasonably needed for the campsite
- With tents and suitable motorhomes or campervans
The right does not cover every site.
It does not cover touring caravans, static caravans or mobile homes, except for a caravan used as a motor vehicle designed or adapted for human habitation.
Check the official Class BA legislation before you plan your pitch types.
What happened to the old 28-day rule?
Before 1 September 2026, camping for tents sat under Class B, often called the 28-day rule.
Class BA now provides the main route for temporary recreational campsites in Wales.
The 28-day limit still applies in protected landscapes and World Heritage Sites.
It can also affect sites that used the old Class B right earlier in 2026. Those days count towards the Class BA annual allowance.
Keep one calendar for the whole site.
Do not count each field separately.
Do not restart the allowance when you move pitches.
What the 100m buffer zone means
The rule applies to land within 100 metres of a protected dwelling.
A protected dwelling means:
- A dwellinghouse occupied by someone other than the campsite owner or operator
- A flat occupied by someone other than the campsite owner or operator
A neighbour’s house can therefore create a buffer.
A nearby holiday flat can also create a buffer if it meets the legal definition.
Your own home may not be a protected dwelling if you are the campsite owner or operator.
Check who occupies each nearby dwelling.
Do not rely on ownership alone.
What does the buffer protect?
The buffer protects nearby homes from campsite use.
In practice, keep all campsite operations outside the zone, including:
- Tent pitches
- Campervan and motorhome pitches
- Toilets and showers
- Waste and wastewater facilities
- Guest parking
- Reception areas
- Moveable campsite structures
- Communal areas
The only stated exception is an existing private way used for access.
That private way must already exist.
You must also have a legal right to use it.
Do not create a new track and call it a private way.
How to measure the 100m buffer
Start with a clear site plan.
Use an accurate base map.
Show:
- Your full land boundary
- Every nearby dwelling
- The proposed campsite area
- Pitches and amenities
- Toilets and wastewater facilities
- Waste storage
- Parking
- Highway access
- Emergency access
- The 100m buffer around each protected dwelling
Use a scaled plan.
Show the measurement clearly.
Mark the buffer as a no-camping area.
Then move the whole campsite layout outside it.
Do not measure only from the nearest field gate.
Do not measure only from the pub, hotel or farmhouse.
Do not measure from a hedge because the hedge may not mark the dwelling.
Do not assume that a large field automatically solves the problem.
If the measurement is close, ask the local planning authority to confirm the approach before you advertise pitches.
Keep the plan in your compliance file.
Update it if a dwelling, boundary or access route changes.
A simple example
A neighbouring cottage sits close to your field.
Your first pitch is 85 metres away.
That pitch does not meet the buffer.
Your toilet unit is 92 metres away.
That facility does not meet the buffer either.
Move both outside the 100m zone.
An existing private access route may pass through the zone, but camping use cannot spread along it.
Other Class BA exclusions
The 100m buffer is only one check.
Class BA does not apply to:
- Scheduled monuments
- Special Areas of Conservation
- Special Protection Areas
- Ramsar sites
- Sites of Special Scientific Interest
- Sites of listed buildings
- Flood Zones 2 or 3
- Safety hazard areas
- Military explosives storage areas
Check for an Article 4 Direction.
Check your existing planning conditions.
Either may remove or restrict permitted development rights.
Listed pubs and hotels need extra care.
The curtilage may include gardens, yards, outbuildings and attached land.
Do not place pitches behind a listed building without checking the position.
Read the Welsh Government temporary campsite guidance.
Prior approval and the Class BA process
You must contact the local planning authority before starting the campsite in each calendar year.
Submit a plan with:
- Pitch locations
- Campsite amenities
- Toilet facilities
- Wastewater arrangements
- Waste disposal facilities
- Highway access
- Proposed operating dates
The planning authority has 28 days to decide whether prior approval is required.
If it says prior approval is not required, follow the submitted plan.
If it does not respond within the relevant period, check the Welsh Government process before opening.
If prior approval is required, do not start until you receive written approval.
The authority may review:
- Toilet and wastewater arrangements
- Waste storage and collection
- Highway access
- Traffic levels
- Queuing risk
- Pollution risk
- Effects on nearby land and water
Give complete information at the first stage.
A clear plan can reduce delays.
Do not change the number of pitches, access or waste system without checking again.
Common mistakes to avoid
Mistake 1: Measuring only to the nearest house
The rule applies to each protected dwelling near the proposed campsite.
Map every relevant house and flat.
Mistake 2: Putting facilities inside the buffer
Moving pitches outside the zone is not enough if toilets, parking or waste facilities remain inside it.
Map the whole operation.
Mistake 3: Using the wrong day limit
Most Welsh land can use up to 60 days.
National Parks, National Landscapes and World Heritage Sites remain at 28 days.
Check the designation before setting prices or taking bookings.
Mistake 4: Treating Class BA as permanent permission
Class BA is temporary.
Permanent toilet blocks, hardstanding, tracks, new buildings and fixed infrastructure may need separate planning permission.
Moveable facilities must be reasonably necessary for the campsite and removed when the temporary use ends.
Mistake 5: Accepting touring caravans
Class BA does not provide a general route for touring caravans.
Check every unit type.
Describe motorhomes and campervans accurately.
Ask the planning authority if the position is unclear.
Mistake 6: Ignoring licensing
Planning permission and licensing are separate.
A tented site may need a licence if it operates for more than 42 consecutive days or more than 60 days in any 12-month period.
Check the licensing position with your council.
Keep planning and licensing documents together.
England is different: Class BC and the 60-day rule
Do not apply Welsh Class BA rules to English land.
In England, Class BC is the main permitted development route for a temporary recreational campsite.
It can allow:
- Up to 60 days in a calendar year
- Up to 50 pitches
- Moveable structures reasonably needed for the site
- Tents, motorhomes and campervans where the conditions are met
Class BC requires written notification to the local planning authority before the campsite starts each year.
Include the dates, site plan, toilets, waste facilities and access.
England has no national Class BC 100m buffer.
You still need to manage noise, traffic, privacy, lighting and waste near homes.
Read the official Class BC legislation and Open Sky Adventure’s Class BC camping guide.
How pubs, hotels and farms can still create a campsite
Start with the right field.
Choose land outside the buffer.
Keep guests away from livestock, machinery and private areas.
Use a simple pitch layout.
Provide clear parking.
Keep emergency access open.
Plan toilet servicing and waste collection.
Set quiet hours.
Control fires, barbecues, dogs and vehicle speeds.
Check your drainage capacity.
Review your insurance.
Then build a realistic operating calendar.
Use the 28-day limit if your site sits in a protected landscape.
Use the 60-day limit only where the location and approvals allow it.
Camping can support:
- Farm diversification
- Pub and hotel accommodation
- Food and drink sales
- Walking packages
- Guided outdoor activities
- Group bookings
- Local tourism
Do not take bookings before you confirm the planning route.
Your Class BA compliance checklist
Before opening, confirm that you have:
- Mapped every protected dwelling
- Measured the 100m buffer
- Kept pitches and facilities outside the buffer
- Checked protected land and flood zones
- Checked Article 4 Directions
- Checked planning conditions
- Confirmed your annual day limit
- Identified every unit type
- Prepared the site plan
- Submitted the Class BA notification
- Received prior approval where required
- Arranged toilets and wastewater
- Arranged waste collection
- Checked highway access
- Checked licensing
- Updated insurance
- Prepared guest rules
- Created a day-count record
Keep the documents.
Review them before every season.
Create a compliant campsite with Open Sky Adventure
Your spare field may support a new income stream.
Start with the buffer.
Then check the land, layout, facilities and operating dates.
Open Sky Adventure helps farmers, pubs, hotels and rural landowners explore compliant camping and licensed campsite options.
Read Unlock Your Land and Potential, then join the group and sign up on the website.
We will happily help you, signup live now if you have an interest in joining our license agreement.