Temporary use of land for 28 days under Class B
Class B of Part 4 allows 28 days of temporary use a year, but only 14 for markets, and none at all within the curtilage of a building. Here is how the count really works.
Land can be used for almost any purpose for up to 28 days in a calendar year without planning permission, under Class B of Part 4 of Schedule 2 to the General Permitted Development Order 2015. That is the 28 day rule for temporary use, and it is the reason a field can host a car boot sale, a farm shop pop-up or a seasonal food market without an application. The allowance is narrower than most people running events believe, and it is easy to exhaust without noticing.
Two limits do most of the damage. The count is per calendar year and per parcel of land, and any part of a day counts as a whole day.
What the class actually permits
Class B permits the use of any land for any purpose for not more than 28 days in total in any calendar year, together with the provision on that land of any moveable structure for the purposes of that permitted use.
Read that carefully. It permits a use, not a building. A marquee, a catering trailer, a portable toilet block and a temporary stage are moveable structures serving the use. A permanent kiosk with foundations is operational development and needs its own permission, whatever the use rights are.
The right attaches to the land, not to the operator. Two different event organisers using the same field share the same 28 days, which matters where land is let out repeatedly through a season.
When the temporary use ends, the land reverts to its previous lawful use. There is no residual right to store equipment, keep hardstanding in place or leave a structure standing, and the presence of leftover infrastructure is usually what prompts a complaint.
Counting the days
A day is counted whenever the temporary use takes place, regardless of duration. A three hour Sunday market uses a day. So does a Saturday morning set-up followed by a Sunday event, because the land is being used for the purpose on both.
The count runs from 1 January to 31 December. Days do not carry over, and a use straddling the new year draws from both years' allowances.
Where different parts of a holding are used at different times, the position is fact specific. The allowance applies to the land in question, and dividing a field into notional parcels to multiply the allowance has not generally impressed enforcement officers or inspectors. If the parcels are separate in fact, physically and functionally, the argument has more force, but it is one to take advice on rather than assume.
Keep a contemporaneous record. A dated diary, booking confirmations, ticket records and photographs are the evidence that establishes how many days have been used, and reconstructing that after an enforcement enquiry is far harder than keeping it as you go.
The 14 day uses
Within the 28 days, no more than 14 may be used for holding a market or for motor car and motorcycle racing, including practising. Those uses have a shorter allowance because of their traffic, noise and surfacing effects.
The market limit catches more businesses than the racing limit. A weekly market on the same land exhausts 14 days inside four months, and continuing past that is a breach whether or not anyone objects. Operators sometimes assume the 28 day figure applies to everything. It does not.
| Use | Days permitted in a calendar year |
|---|---|
| General temporary use of land | 28 |
| Holding a market | 14, within the 28 |
| Motor car and motorcycle racing, including practising | 14, within the 28 |
Temporary increases to these allowances were made in 2020 and 2021 and have since expired. Check the current consolidated Order before relying on any figure you have seen quoted, because Part 4 has been amended repeatedly.
Land the class does not cover
Class B does not apply where the land is a building or is within the curtilage of a building. That exclusion removes most urban yards, pub gardens and car parks attached to premises from the class entirely, and it is the point that trips up commercial occupiers most often. Working out where a curtilage ends is its own exercise, and the same reasoning appears in curtilage and principal elevation in Class A cases.
The class also does not authorise use of land as a caravan site, and there are restrictions where the land is a site of special scientific interest, including for motor sports, clay pigeon shooting and war games. Displaying an advertisement is not covered either, and advertisement consent is a separate regime.
An Article 4 direction can remove the right altogether in a defined area. Directions are made by the local planning authority, and they are recorded on the authority's own register, so check before planning a season of events rather than after.
What the right does not solve
Permitted development removes the need for planning permission. It does not remove anything else.
- A premises licence or temporary event notice may be needed for alcohol, regulated entertainment or late night refreshment.
- Food business registration applies to traders.
- Highway consents may be needed for temporary access, signage or road closures.
- Noise from amplified music remains subject to statutory nuisance powers, and where events are frequent a Noise Impact Assessment may be the fastest way to head off objections.
- Temporary structures over a certain size engage building control and event safety duties.
None of these is a planning matter, and none is waived by the 28 day allowance. A market that is lawful in planning terms can still be shut down under a different regime.
When you have run out of days
Past the allowance, the options are a temporary planning permission or nothing. A temporary permission for a defined number of additional days, or for a season, is a normal application, and the supporting Planning Statement should address the matters the council will actually weigh: traffic and parking, noise, hours, litter, the effect on nearby residents and whether the use would prejudice the permanent use of the land.
A temporary permission is not a prior approval application, so the fixed procedure and deadlines that apply to prior approval cases do not help here. The differences between the two routes are set out in how the prior approval procedure actually works.
Applying for a longer period than you need is usually a mistake. A request for 12 event days a year with conditions on hours and noise is far easier to grant than open-ended permission, and it gives the council something to monitor against.
Where a use has run over the allowance and the council has noticed, a retrospective application is possible, but so is an enforcement notice. Get the day count evidence in order first, because in a number of cases the use turns out to have been within the allowance all along and the dispute is about record keeping rather than planning.
Illustrative example: a farm hosting a monthly producers' market for 12 Sundays, plus two weekend craft fairs and a three day summer show, has used 12 market days and seven general days. That sits inside both limits, with two market days in reserve. The moment a thirteenth and fourteenth market day are booked, the reserve is gone and the next one is a breach. Figures are illustrative and every site needs its own count.
Work out your day count before you publish a programme for the year. And if the land sits within the curtilage of a building, start from the position that Class B does not apply at all.
This is general guidance, not legal advice, and a Lawful Development Certificate 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.
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Frequently asked questions
How many days can land be used temporarily without planning permission?
Class B of Part 4 of Schedule 2 to the General Permitted Development Order 2015 permits use of land for any purpose for up to 28 days in a calendar year, of which no more than 14 may be used for holding a market or for motor car and motorcycle racing including practising.
Does a half day count as a full day under the 28 day rule?
Yes. Any part of a day on which the temporary use takes place counts as a whole day, so a three hour Sunday market uses a day of the allowance. Set-up on the preceding day for the purposes of the use also counts, which catches weekend events that begin on the Saturday.
Can I use the 28 day rule for a car park attached to my premises?
Usually not. Class B does not apply where the land is a building or lies within the curtilage of a building, which removes most yards, pub gardens and car parks attached to premises. Establishing where a curtilage ends is fact specific, so take advice before relying on the class.
Do the 28 days reset if the land changes hands?
No. The allowance attaches to the land rather than to the operator or owner, so a new tenant inherits whatever remains of the calendar year's count. Where land is let repeatedly through a season, every hirer draws from the same allowance.
What happens if I exceed the allowance?
Use beyond the allowance is a breach of planning control and can be enforced against. The options are a temporary planning permission for the additional days or stopping. Applying for a defined number of days a year, with conditions on hours and noise, is usually easier to obtain than an open ended permission.
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.