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The short answer
Starting a glamping business in the UK usually means planning permission for a change of use of your land, applied for at the local council. In England, a temporary campsite may open for up to 60 days a year without it under Class BC, but that route does not cover a permanent glamping site. Units that count as caravans need a site licence from the council, which is only issued with planning permission. Tents fall under a separate licence. On top of that you keep a written fire risk assessment, check business rates for each unit and register for VAT once turnover goes over £90,000.
A glamping site starts with a field and an idea: three bell tents by the stream, a shepherd hut on the ridge, a row of pods behind the farmhouse. The rules look at the land first and the units second. This guide covers England, with notes on Wales where the rules differ. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own planning systems; ask your council there.
Planning permission comes first
Putting guest accommodation on a field is in most cases a change of use of the land. Government planning guidance says a change of use needs planning permission if it is a material change of use, and that this is a matter of fact and degree. A single tent for a weekend is not the same as six pods with decks and a shower block.
The guidance does not set a fixed use class for glamping, so the answer depends on your site. Start with the council's pre-application advice. Bring a plan with the units, the access, parking, toilets, water and drainage, and ask:
| Question for the council | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Does my site need planning permission for what I plan? | Everything else, including the site licence, follows from the answer |
| Is the land in a flood zone, a protected landscape or near a listed building? | These change what is allowed and what reports you need |
| What do you need on drainage, access and parking? | A shower block and a car park often weigh more than the units |
| Do my units count as caravans? | That decides whether you also need a caravan site licence |
| How long will a decision take, and who is consulted? | Neighbours and highways can respond; plan your first season around it |
A planning consultant or architect who knows rural sites in your area is worth the fee here. A refusal after you have bought the units is the most expensive mistake in this guide.
The 60 day route under Class BC
Since 26 July 2023, England has had a permitted development right for temporary recreational campsites, known as Class BC. It lets land be used as a campsite without a planning application, within limits:
- not more than 60 days in total in a calendar year;
- up to 50 pitches, plus moveable structures reasonably needed for the campsite;
- toilet and waste disposal facilities on site;
- written notice to the local planning authority before you start each year, with a site plan and the dates;
- not on a scheduled monument, a site of special scientific interest, a listed building site or a few other listed areas;
- in Flood Zone 2 or 3, prior approval each year with a flood risk assessment.
Caravans are excluded, but motorhomes are allowed. For a pop-up summer site with bell tents, Class BC can be a way to test demand before you apply for permanent permission. It does not count as planning permission for a caravan site licence, so pods or huts that count as caravans cannot rely on it.
Why the 28 day rule does not help
The older Class B right allows temporary use of land for up to 28 days a year. It explicitly excludes camping, except in connection with a festival. The 28 day rule is often quoted for camping, but for a glamping site in England the relevant temporary route is Class BC.
Site licences for pods, huts and tents
Next to planning permission sits licensing. Which licence you need depends on what the unit is in law.
Caravans. The Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 says no one may use land as a caravan site without a site licence from the council. The council grants it if, and only if, you have planning permission granted on an application, not under permitted development. It has two months to issue the licence once it has your information. A caravan is any structure designed or adapted for human habitation that is capable of being moved. That can include static caravans, lodges and some pods and huts. Twin-unit structures have size limits: up to 20 metres long, 6.8 metres wide and 3.05 metres high inside.
Tents. A tent is not a caravan under the 1960 Act. Camping in tents and other moveable dwellings falls under section 269 of the Public Health Act 1936 in England and Wales. A licence is needed when the land is used for camping for more than 42 days in a row or more than 60 days in any twelve months. If the council does not reply within four weeks, the licence is treated as granted.
Small certificated sites. Some organisations are exempt and can certify small sites for their members, for not more than five caravans. That suits a small touring field, less so a glamping business that lets its own units.
| Unit | What it is likely to be in law | Licence to ask about |
|---|---|---|
| Bell tent, safari tent | A tent | Section 269 licence for tents |
| Pod on skids, shepherd hut on wheels | Possibly a caravan, if it can be moved | Caravan site licence |
| Lodge in two sections, delivered on a lorry | Possibly a twin-unit caravan, within the size limits | Caravan site licence |
| Treehouse or cabin on foundations | A building | Planning permission and building regulations |
Whether a particular pod or hut counts as a caravan depends on how it is built and moved, not on what the seller calls it. Ask the council before you order.
A plan that knows the size of every pitch and unit
The plan spotted a problem
On Saturday an 8-metre motorhome is booked onto pitch T9, a grass tent pitch of 7 metres with no hardstanding.
The plan moves the motorhome to pitch H2: 10 metres, hardstanding and a hook-up, free on Saturday. The guest gets a message with the new number.
Fixed: Motorhome to H2
An example of what we can build, with made-up pitches and bookings. You choose which sizes and facilities the plan checks.
Fire safety for paying guests
If you let accommodation to paying guests, you are the responsible person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. You carry out a fire risk assessment and you keep a written record of it, whatever the size of your business.
The Home Office guide on making small paying guest accommodation safe from fire applies in England to self-catering, and it names camping and glamping pods, bothies, lodges, shepherd huts, tents, tree houses and yurts. Read it before you choose stoves and heaters and before you set out the field: what the assessment asks is far easier to get right on paper than after the decks are built.
Your insurer will ask about the same points. Get a quote for public liability and for the units themselves before you open.
Business rates, tax and VAT
Glamping units that you let as self-catering can be rated as business property instead of falling under council tax.
| Topic | What applies | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Business rates in England | A unit is rated as self-catering when available for at least 140 nights and actually let for at least 70 nights in a year | Nights available and let per unit, every year |
| Business rates in Wales | The thresholds are 252 nights available and 182 let | The same records, kept per unit |
| Small business rate relief | A rateable value of £12,000 or less pays no business rates; relief tapers to £15,000 | Whether your units are one property or several |
| Furnished holiday lettings | The special tax regime ended from April 2025 | What that means for your income tax and capital allowances, with your accountant |
| VAT | Registration once taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in twelve months; pitches and holiday accommodation are standard rated | Prices with or without VAT, and when you will cross the threshold |
A booking system that records nights available and nights let per unit saves you an evening of spreadsheets when the rating question comes. Keep invoices for groups and businesses tidy too; see e-invoicing in the UK. Whether you trade as a sole trader or a company is a question for your accountant.
A year before the first season
- Pre-application adviceAsk the council what your land allows, with a sketch of the units, access, toilets and parking.
- Planning applicationA consultant draws up the application with drainage, access and the spacing for fire safety.
- LicencesApply for the caravan site licence or the tent licence once you know which units you will use.
- Units and servicesOrder units, decks, stoves and the shower block, with delivery dates that leave room before spring.
- Fire risk assessment and insuranceWrite the assessment for the finished site and get cover for guests and units.
- Site and bookingsPut the site live with a page per unit and open bookings for the season.
Your first guests
Glamping sells on pictures, so the site and the photos matter as much as the units. Three things do most of the work in the first season:
- A page per unit. Photos, beds, heating, the bathroom or the walk to the shower block, and the price for the chosen dates. How that looks is on our page about glamping website design. Websites start from 1,500 euro; see also website design and website cost in the UK.
- One calendar for every channel. The platforms bring your first bookings and charge commission on each night; your own site takes the repeat guests. Weigh them up in Airbnb vs Booking for hosts and keep them in step with a booking system for a website. Read why a direct booking website pays for itself on repeat stays.
- A Google Business Profile. Create it as in create a Google Business Profile, pick the category from Google Business Profile categories and ask every guest for a review, as in get more Google reviews. The local SEO tips cover the rest.
Glamping is also found on Instagram. Shoot every unit in spring and summer in the sizes from social media image sizes, and fill spring weekends with a short campaign in February and March, as on Facebook and Instagram ads.
For guests from abroad, offer the payment methods they know; see payment methods in Europe. Collect email addresses only with consent, as set out in a GDPR compliant website.
Growing into a campsite
Many glamping sites add touring pitches after a few seasons, or the other way round. At that point the booking side changes: you need a plan that knows the size and hook-up of every pitch next to the units. That is covered on our page about campsite booking software.
Where to get answers in writing
When in doubt about planning, licences or rates, ask the council in writing with a plan of your site attached. An answer on paper before you buy units saves a season. When you are ready for the site and bookings, get in touch.