Government to consult on extending campsite planning rules

Temporary rules that allowed farmers to operate pop-up campsites on their land for 56 days as a pandemic economic recovery measure could be in place again next summer.

A newsletter circulated by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) revealed that the government is set to consult on a new permitted development right for temporary campsites.

At present, farmers and landowners can operate a campsite on their land for 28 days every year without applying for planning permission.

See also: What’s the outlook for farm-based staycations in 2022?

This was extended to 56 days in 2020 and 2021 to help rural communities recover from the pandemic.

According to outdoor accommodation booking site Pitchup.com, this injected £25m into the rural economy.

The new government consultation will now gather evidence on the effect and benefits of allowing this 56-day rule to be extended to 2023.

The DLUHC said details of the consultation would be announced “in due course”.

The Welsh government will also consult on the same issue, but the Scottish parliament has yet to make an announcement on the matter.

Extra revenue

Pitchup.com founder Dan Yates describes the potential rule change in England as “fantastic news for rural England”.

“Our figures demonstrate the fantastic economic impact pop-up campsites have had on the rural economy.”

He said the original extension to permitted development rights in June 2020 led to a large number of pop-up campsites being set up: in 2019, when the 28-day limit was in place, there were 31 new pop-ups listed on his website, but in 2020 it increased to 130 and by 2021 another 934 new campsites were listed.

Mr Yates said even the smallest sites generated on average about £13,000 in extra revenue for farms – for some it was as much as £120,000.

“As the reduction in the Basic Payment Scheme really starts to bite, temporary campsites are an excellent way to redress some of the balance,” Mr Yates said.

“What’s more, they are very easy to manage alongside a farming operation. At their most basic, all that is needed is a single field, running water and some toilets and away you go.”

In the meantime, landowners who want to run a campsite for more than 28 days must apply for planning permission.

Chief planner Joanna Averley wants planning authorities to take a positive approach to those applications, “to support tourism and hospitality services in local areas’’.