Welsh farmers and landowners operating pop-up campsites could be able to open longer next year as a change in planning law is in the works.
The Cabinet Secretary for the Economy and Planning has confirmed that the Welsh government is ‘progressing work’ to bring Permitted Development Rights in line with England.
In Wales, a temporary campsite can be run for 28 days per year under Permitted Development Rights without the landowner or tenant needing to apply for further planning permission.
But as of July, 2023, England extended this to 60 days to support the ongoing popularity of the staycation and bolster the rural economy.
Since then, the Welsh government has come under increasing pressure to follow suit as farmers and landowners lose out to their English counterparts, but until now has resisted such calls.
However, news of the potential change – which could be introduced in time for the summer camping season next year – has been welcomed by farmers and landowners.
Dan Yates, founder of online camping business Pitchup.com, said the move would have a 'hugely positive impact' on Wales’s rural economy.
He has been lobbying the Welsh assembly for the change since 2021, when the government first consulted on the issue.
Mr Yates said: “At long last, this latest development does seem to offer some hope to Wales’s agritourism sector.
"We’re delighted to learn that the Welsh government is now taking the issue seriously and is working towards a workable solution.”
Permitted Development Rights for camping were first extended during Covid to help rural communities recover from the pandemic, but they reverted to 28 days in 2022.
However, on seeing how successful the move had been, both the Westminster government and the Welsh assembly ran consultations on implementing the change permanently.
A permanent extension to 60 days was enacted in England quickly, but the Welsh government remained tight lipped on the outcome of their consultation.
They also resisted pressure from farmers and landowners, believing the discrepancy in regulations to be unfair, to follow suit.
One farming family who would welcome the change is Emma and Edwin Jones, of Nant Madyn farm, Llanegryn, near Tywyn, on the west coast of the country.
The couple, who started a campsite during the pandemic under extended Permitted Development Rights, have been struggling to make it work since it reverted to 28 days.
Ms Jones said they were now at a ‘crossroads’ and may have to give up on the vital diversification project.
She said: “The 28 days does hamper us. I work as a farm advisor and don’t have the time to do the camping full time, but it is still a very important source of income.”
The problem has arisen because the couple hire portaloos for camping guests on their remote but beautiful hill farm in the Snowdonia National Park.
Portaloos are considered a ‘moveable structure’ and as such, when the campsite is open, even if no one turns up, the time is still deducted from the 28-day allowance.
Ms Yates said: “If they moved it to 56 or 60 days as they have in England, it would give the option to do a week in Easter, May Bank Holiday, open for a few more days in the summer holidays and possibly even at October half term too. It would make a huge difference.
“Incomes are tight and we’re told to diversify and that means trying to find ways to start something off from a low cost base.
"That’s hard enough as it is, so it’s frustrating that we’re being restricted in what we can do.”
