Caravans, static homes and holiday lets: what permission needs

Siting a caravan, static home or glamping unit on land almost always needs planning permission once it stops being temporary, and caravan siting planning permission is only half the story: a caravan site also needs a site licence from the same council under separate legislation. The two run in parallel and the licence cannot be issued until permission exists. Where owners get caught out is the assumption that a unit on wheels escapes planning control because it is not a building. Planning controls the use of land, not just what is bolted to it.

The 28-day temporary use allowance and its limits

Class B of Part 4 of Schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 permits the temporary use of land for any purpose for a limited number of days in a calendar year, together with any moveable structure needed for that use. The allowance has been amended since 2015, so check the current wording rather than relying on a number you remember.

Three limits do the work. The permission covers use of land, not use of a building. It is a total across the calendar year, not per event, and the council counts days when the structure is on the land rather than days when it is occupied. And it does not apply to land within a site of special scientific interest for certain uses, or where an Article 4 direction has removed it.

A field used for six summer weekends of camping, cleared between times, sits comfortably within the allowance. The same field with a shower block, a hardstanding track and units left in place from April to October does not. Officers ask for evidence of what was on the land and when, and aerial imagery makes that easy to check.

When a caravan becomes a dwelling in planning terms

A caravan is defined by the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 and extended by the Caravan Sites Act 1968 to cover twin units assembled on site, subject to maximum dimensions. A unit that exceeds those dimensions, or that cannot be moved as a whole, is a building and needs permission as such.

The planning question is different. Stationing a caravan for permanent residential occupation is a material change of use of the land to residential use, whatever the unit is made of. That is why a static home in a paddock, occupied all year by someone with no other home, is treated as a new dwelling in open countryside and assessed against the policies that apply to new dwellings.

Ancillary use is the exception worth understanding. A caravan within the curtilage of a house, used by the household for a purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the dwelling, does not usually involve a change of use. Once it becomes a separate household with its own kitchen, its own entrance and its own council tax band, it is a separate dwelling and the analysis changes completely.

Site licences and how they differ from permission

Land used as a caravan site requires a licence under the 1960 Act, issued by the district or unitary council. The licence controls physical matters: spacing between units, road widths, fire points, water and sanitation, and the number of pitches. Planning permission controls the principle and the impact.

Several exemptions in Schedule 1 to the 1960 Act remove the licence requirement, including use within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse incidental to enjoyment of the house, and certain limited seasonal uses. Exemption from the licence does not exempt you from planning. Permanent residential parks are also subject to the licensing regime as amended by the Mobile Homes Act 2013, which brought in fees, compliance notices and a fit and proper person test for site owners in England.

Apply for permission first. A licence application refused because there is no permission wastes the fee and tells the enforcement team exactly where to look.

Holiday occupancy conditions and the register

Where permission is granted for holiday units, the council almost always imposes an occupancy condition. Standard wording restricts occupation to holiday purposes only, prevents use as a sole or main residence, and requires the operator to keep a register of occupiers with names, main home addresses and dates of stay, available for inspection.

That condition is enforceable and it is enforced, because it is what keeps the unit out of the housing supply calculation and out of the policies on new homes in the countryside. Treat the register as a legal record from day one rather than something to reconstruct when a monitoring officer asks.

Some authorities add a closed season, requiring the site to be vacated for a period each year. Others cap the length of a single stay. Read the condition before you market the units, because a booking model built on long winter lets can breach a condition you agreed to.

Conditions have to meet the six tests in national policy, so a condition that is imprecise or unenforceable can be challenged. The route is a section 73 application to vary it, and the approach to changing an approved scheme applies in the same way here.

Landscape, access and drainage evidence for pitches

Small tourism proposals in the countryside are usually refused on landscape, highways or drainage rather than on principle. The evidence base should answer all three before an objection raises them.

• Landscape: a plan showing unit positions against contours and existing vegetation, a description of colour and finish, and a lighting strategy that keeps columns low and light downward. Dark skies matter in National Landscapes and National Parks, and unlit sites are easier to approve.
• Access: visibility splays at the junction measured to the current design standard, passing places on a single track lane, and a note on the number and timing of vehicle movements.
• Foul drainage: package treatment plant or cesspool details, percolation testing where a soakaway is proposed, and confirmation of the discharge route. The Environment Agency general binding rules apply to small sewage discharges and are worth checking early.
• Surface water: run-off from new hardstanding and tracks, and where it goes.
• Ecology: a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal where grassland, hedgerows or trees are affected, plus biodiversity net gain, which applies to most development in England.

An illustrative example: five safari tents on a nine hectare farm, set below the ridge line against an existing copse, sharing an existing farm access with improved visibility, served by a package treatment plant and unlit apart from low level bollards. That scheme has answered the three usual objections in its drawings. This example is illustrative only.

Documents for a small glamping or touring proposal

For a modest site, expect the council's validation list to ask for:

1. Location and block plans showing pitch positions, access, parking, refuse and drainage.
2. Elevations or manufacturer details of the units, with dimensions and finishes.
3. A planning statement covering the policy position on rural tourism, the occupancy proposed and the seasonality.
4. A Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment, proportionate to the site, with viewpoints from public rights of way.
5. Foul and surface water drainage details.
6. A transport statement or a highways note with visibility splay drawings.
7. Ecological information and the biodiversity net gain metric output.

That is a lot for five pitches, which is why proportionality is worth raising at pre-application stage. A council cannot insist on a document that is not on its published validation list.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Local plan policies on rural tourism, occupancy conditions and site licensing vary between councils, so check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.

Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which of the 66 report types a small rural tourism scheme is likely to need.