Mobile catering on private land and the 28-day rule
Part 4 Class B allows temporary use of land for 28 days a year. It does not apply inside the curtilage of a building, which rules out most car parks.
The mobile catering 28 day rule comes from Part 4 Class B of Schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, which permits the temporary use of land for any purpose for not more than 28 days in total in any calendar year, with a lower limit of 14 days for markets and motor racing. It also permits moveable structures on the land for that use, which is what makes a trailer or a converted horsebox lawful without permission. There are four conditions that stop it applying, and the first one catches more people than the day count ever does.
Class B applies to land. It does not apply where the land is a building or is within the curtilage of a building.
What the right allows
For 28 days a calendar year you can use a field, a yard or an area of open land for a use that would otherwise need planning permission, and put a moveable structure on it for the purpose. A catering trailer, a gazebo, a generator on wheels and tables that are taken away each evening all sit comfortably inside that.
The right attaches to the land, not to the operator. If a landowner has already used the field for 12 days of car boot sales this year, 16 days remain for everything else, including your catering pitch.
It is also not a right to intensify. A use that continues beyond 28 days, or that leaves structures in place between occasions, is a material change of use requiring permission, and the fact that the trading itself happened on fewer than 28 days will not save it.
Counting the days correctly
Three rules decide the count, and all three catch people out.
Any part of a day counts as a day. Trading from 11am to 2pm uses a whole day of the allowance.
The allowance is shared across all temporary uses of the planning unit in that calendar year, not allocated per use or per operator. Two separate businesses using the same field do not get 28 days each.
The year is the calendar year, so the allowance resets on 1 January rather than on the anniversary of the first use. That makes December and January trading patterns worth planning deliberately.
Keep a dated log. If the authority investigates, the burden of showing that the use was within the right falls on the person relying on it, and a log with dates, times and photographs is the evidence that settles it. Without records the practical outcome is usually an enforcement notice you cannot resist.
Structures, hardstanding and what falls outside
A moveable structure is permitted. Works to the land generally are not.
| Usually within Class B | Usually outside it |
|---|---|
| Catering trailer or converted vehicle | Laying hardstanding or a concrete base |
| Gazebo or marquee erected and removed | Fixed decking or a permanent canopy |
| Portable toilets brought and taken away | Connection to mains drainage or a new foul connection |
| Freestanding signage removed after trading | Illuminated or fixed signage |
| Bins removed by the trader | A built bin store |
Hardstanding is the usual trip. Laying stone or tarmac for parking is an engineering operation, and on agricultural land it may also change the character of the use. A rutted field entrance after a wet November is the practical reason people lay it, and that is exactly when the authority notices.
Fixed signage is a separate consent under the advertisement regulations whatever the status of the catering use. Deemed consent covers some small signs. A banner on the roadside fence promoting the pitch generally does not qualify.
Where the right does not apply
Four exclusions in Class B.
The land is a building or is within the curtilage of a building. This is the big one. A pub car park, a yard behind a shop, a forecourt within the curtilage of an industrial unit and the parking area of a retail park are all likely to be curtilage, which means Class B gives you nothing. Trading there needs permission, or needs to be ancillary to the existing lawful use of the premises.
The use is as a caravan site under the caravan sites legislation.
The land is, or is within, a site of special scientific interest and the use is for motor racing, a market, clay pigeon shooting or a war game.
The use is for the display of an advertisement.
On top of those, Class B is removed where an Article 4 direction has withdrawn it, and permitted development never authorises development that breaches a condition on an earlier permission. Agricultural land with a planning history is worth checking for both. Our note on barn wedding venues deals with the same boundary between temporary use and a permanent change.
The access is the real planning issue
A catering pitch on a rural A road generates turning movements, and the highway authority's view of a field gate with poor visibility is unlikely to be sympathetic. This is where temporary use arguments meet physical reality.
Within the 28 days there is no application for the highway authority to comment on, which does not mean the risk disappears. Vehicles queuing on a 60mph road is a matter the police and the highway authority can act on through other powers, and a serious incident will end the arrangement whatever Class B says.
If the pitch is going to continue, deal with the access properly. That means visibility splays measured to the relevant design standard, a bound surface for the first few metres to stop material being dragged onto the carriageway, and parking laid out so that nobody reverses onto the road. A transport statement covering those points is usually what a permanent application needs, and getting the access right is also what makes the temporary arrangement defensible in the meantime.
Consents that run alongside planning
Planning is one of four regimes and the others do not pause for the 28 days.
Street trading consent may be required under Schedule 4 to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 where the council has adopted the provisions, and "street" can extend to land adjoining a street to which the public has access without payment. Ask the council's licensing team rather than assuming private land is outside it.
Food business registration with the council's environmental health service is required, and inspection follows. Alcohol needs authorisation under the Licensing Act 2003, which for occasional events may be a temporary event notice.
And waste is a duty of care matter under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Cooking oil and food waste have to leave with a registered carrier, and a transfer note is the evidence.
Applying for permanent permission
A permanent pitch is a material change of use, and a hot food takeaway use falls outside every use class, which means the application is assessed on its own terms with no fallback position from an adjacent class.
The application will turn on access and parking, odour and smoke from cooking, noise from the generator and from customers, litter, hours and the effect on nearby residential amenity. Odour is addressed through a ventilation and extraction statement setting out the extract route, filtration and discharge point, and on a trailer that means being specific about the flue rather than relying on the manufacturer's brochure.
A temporary permission for a fixed period is often the sensible ask on a site with no history. It gives the authority a way to say yes, and a clean trading record for two or three years is the strongest material consideration you will ever have at renewal. Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which reports the site is likely to need.
This is general guidance, not legal advice, and a Lawful Development Certificate under section 191 or 192 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is the only formal way to confirm that a use is lawful. 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.
Frequently asked questions
Does the 28 days apply to me or to the land?
To the land. Part 4 Class B gives the planning unit 28 days of temporary use in a calendar year, shared across all temporary uses and all operators. If the owner has already used the field for other events, the remaining days are what you have. Ask the landowner what has already been used.
Can I trade in a pub or supermarket car park under the 28-day rule?
Usually not. Class B does not apply where the land is a building or within the curtilage of a building, and most car parks serving a building are curtilage. Trading there needs planning permission, unless it can properly be treated as ancillary to the existing lawful use of the premises.
Does a half-day of trading use a whole day of the allowance?
Yes. Any part of a day on which the temporary use takes place counts as a full day. Three hours of lunchtime trading uses the same allowance as a twelve-hour day. Keep a dated log with times and photographs, because the burden of showing the use was within the right falls on you.
Can I lay stone for customer parking?
Not under Class B. The right permits moveable structures for the permitted use, not works to the land. Laying hardstanding is an engineering operation needing permission, and on agricultural land it can also change the character of the use. A temporary trackway that is removed afterwards is a different question worth asking the authority about.
Do I still need street trading consent on private land?
Possibly. Where a council has adopted Schedule 4 to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, the definition of a street can extend to land adjoining a street to which the public has access without payment. Ask the licensing team for a written answer rather than assuming private ownership puts you outside it.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.