Welsh farmers and landowners are turning away from camping diversification due to a lack of government action on extending permitted development rights.
Just 33 new Welsh pop-up campsites were added to Pitchup.com in the last 12 months, down from 53 the year before, and 97 the year before that.
Data from VisitBritain also reveals that 34% of holidays in Wales involve camping compared to just 20% in England and 21% in Scotland, meaning the country has an opportunity to capitalise on.
Dan Yates, founder of Pitchup.com, said that pop-up campsites – those run for a limited length of under permitted development rights (PDR) – were the cheapest and easiest form of diversification for farmers.
But he added he was not surprised the growth in pop-up sites was declining, stating the issue lay firmly at the door of the Welsh government.
Currently, PDR allows farmers and landowners in Wales to run a temporary campsite for 28 days per year without applying for further planning permission.
However, just across the border in England, pop-up campsite owners can legally operate for 60 days a year.
The Welsh Assembly ran a public consultation on extending PDR to help farmers diversify and boost the rural economy, but more than two years after the consultation ended, Ministers have yet to make an announcement on the issue.
Mr Yates said there was a huge opportunity in Wales: "Allowing farmers and landowners to run temporary campsites for the summer season means they can earn extra income.
“When the Welsh government launched the consultation we were extremely optimistic they would see sense and extend PDR as the Westminster government has done in England.
"But instead, in a snub to Welsh farmers and landowners, they’ve remained completely tight-lipped about it.
“As a consequence, a sector that should be absolutely flourishing is rapidly slowing down and likely to go into reverse over the next couple of years if something isn’t done.”
PDR was first extended from 28 days to 56 days in 2021 as a way for the rural economy to bounce back from Covid and to provide extra holiday accommodation in the UK as people were unable to travel abroad.
Despite the success of the initiative – which added an extra £25m into the rural economy – PDR returned to 28 days on 31 December 2021.
However, after lobbying from Pitchup.com, as well as rural organisations, PDR was permanently extended in June 2023 to 60 days in England, while in Wales and Scotland it remains at 28.
The Welsh government has consulted on the issue, but more than two years after the consultation closed, they’re yet to give an update on whether or not the law will be changed.
Susan Allen, who runs the Moss Lane Cottage campsite just a mile from the English border in Wales, said the disparity in regulations threatened the survival of the pop-up camping sector in Wales.
She said: “It is very frustrating that the Welsh government doesn’t seem to want to follow suit and extend PDR as in England, as campsites there get five or six more weekends than we do.
“I’m not saying that if we got 56 or 60 days we would use them all, but to be able to open more weekends across the summer would make a big difference to us financially.”
