Class BC: The Permitted Development Right for Temporary Campsites
Class BC permitted development allows temporary campsites for up to 60 days a year without planning permission. Rules, conditions and pitfalls explained.
PERMITTED DEVELOPMENTPRIOR APPROVAL
Andrew Ransome
9/6/20263 min read
If you're a landowner exploring whether you can run a campsite without a full planning application, Class BC of Part 4 of the GPDO is the right to know. Introduced in July 2023, it's now the main route for ordinary temporary recreational camping in England.
What Class BC Allows
Class BC permits land to be used as a recreational campsite for up to 60 days in total in any calendar year, with up to 50 pitches. There's no minimum number of pitches — you could run a single-pitch site or the full 50. The use can be private, family, or commercial.
You're also permitted to provide moveable structures reasonably necessary for the campsite — this typically covers things like portable toilet blocks and waste facilities, but not permanent buildings.
What Class BC Doesn't Cover
Conventional touring or static caravans are not permitted under Class BC — only tents, and motorhomes/campervans (because these qualify as motor vehicles designed or adapted for human habitation).
Festivals are excluded — a festival campsite falls under Class B instead.
Class BC cannot be used on a scheduled monument, in a safety hazard area, a military explosives storage area, on a Site of Special Scientific Interest, or on the site of a listed building.
The Class BC Conditions You Must Meet
Two conditions apply regardless of location:
On-site toilet and waste disposal facilities must be provided for campsite users.
Written notification to the local planning authority before the campsite starts in each calendar year, including a site plan showing the toilet/waste facilities and the proposed dates of use.
If the land falls within Flood Zone 2 or 3, there's a third requirement: prior approval from the council before the campsite can begin in each calendar year.
This requires a site-specific flood risk assessment, and the council must consult the Environment Agency, which has at least 21 days to respond. The council then has 56 days to determine the prior approval application before it's treated as approved by default.
Don't Forget the Other Layers
Notifying the council and meeting the Class BC conditions deals with the planning position — it doesn't automatically deal with everything else:
Site licensing: a tented campsite generally still needs a licence under public health legislation if used for 42 or more consecutive days, or 60 or more days in any 12-month period, unless an exemption applies.
Protected habitats: if the site is near a Special Protection Area, Special Area of Conservation, or Ramsar site, habitats regulations assessment may still apply even though the campsite is otherwise permitted development — and nutrient neutrality catchment areas can restrict overnight accommodation rights entirely in some locations.
A Useful Interim Use
Class BC comes into its own on land that has no realistic prospect of other development in the foreseeable future — an isolated field, a paddock without access, or a site that simply won't attract residential or commercial planning support.
In those situations, a seasonal campsite can generate income from land that would otherwise sit unused, without the cost, delay or risk of a full planning application.
Because Class BC is a temporary, renewable right rather than a permanent grant of permission, it is unlikely to build any kind of fallback position or precedent towards a more substantial future use.
If your site has genuine development prospects, that's usually better pursued through its own dedicated planning strategy, with the campsite use kept as a separate, short-term consideration rather than the main event.
Class BC is a genuinely useful right for landowners wanting to generate income from land with no realistic prospect of other development, without the cost and delay of a full planning application.
The flood zone trigger and the habitats/nutrient neutrality overlay do catch people out, so if your land sits in a sensitive location, get the position checked before you notify the council and start taking bookings.
Are you planning a new campsite?
Thinking about a temporary campsite on your land? Get in touch and we'll confirm whether Class BC applies and handle the notification or prior approval for you.
Andrew Ransome MRTPI - Email: andrew@andrewransome.co.uk
About me
Andrew Ransome is a Planning Director and a Chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), with more than two decades of experience in town planning.
He specialises in delivering strategic planning solutions for complex developments across both rural and urban environments, helping clients navigate planning challenges and unlock development opportunities. Connect with Andrew on Linkedin.
Permitted Development Information
Get in touch for planning advice: Email: andrew@andrewransome.co.uk
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