How to Set Up a Pop-Up Campsite in the UK

A pop-up campsite is exactly what it sounds like: a temporary campsite that runs for part of the year — usually the summer holidays — and then disappears again. No permanent structures, no lengthy planning applications, and no year-round commitment. For farmers and landowners with a spare field, it's one of the lowest-risk ways to earn extra income from land that would otherwise sit empty.

And right now, the rules in England are the most generous they've ever been. Since 2023, the "60-day rule" has allowed landowners to run a temporary campsite for up to 60 days a year without planning permission. This guide covers how the rules work, what you'll need to provide, what it costs to set up, and how to run a pop-up site that guests actually come back to.

The 60-Day Rule: What It Allows

In July 2023, the government introduced a new permitted development right — Class BC of Part 4 of the General Permitted Development Order — specifically for temporary recreational campsites in England. Under Class BC you can:

• Operate for up to 60 days per calendar year — the days don't need to be consecutive, so you can open for the school summer holidays, bank holiday weekends, and local events
• Host up to 50 pitches at any one time
• Accept tents, campervans and motorhomes — but not touring caravans, which are specifically excluded
• Put up moveable structures reasonably necessary for the campsite — portable toilets, water bowsers, a check-in gazebo

It's not a free-for-all, though. The right comes with conditions:

• You must notify your local planning authority in writing before opening each year — including a site plan showing where the pitches and facilities will be, and the dates you plan to operate
• You must provide toilet and waste disposal facilities for your guests — a field with nothing in it doesn't qualify
• If your land is in Flood Zone 2 or 3, you need prior approval from the council before you start, which can take up to 56 days — so apply early

Where the 60-Day Rule Doesn't Apply

Class BC can't be used on certain protected land:

• Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
• Scheduled monuments and their surroundings
• Land within the curtilage of a listed building
• Safety hazard areas and military explosives storage areas

If your land sits in a National Park, AONB, or conservation area, the right can still apply — but these authorities watch temporary uses closely, so it's worth a friendly conversation with the planning department before you commit. And if you're in Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland, the 60-day rule doesn't apply at all: Wales still operates the 28-day rule for temporary uses, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own planning systems. Check with your local authority first.

Licensing: The Bit Most People Miss

Permitted development rights deal with planning — but there's a separate licensing regime that can still apply:

• Motorhomes and campervans need a caravan site licence under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, unless you qualify for an exemption. Tent-only sites avoid this entirely, which is why many pop-ups start as tent-only
• Exemption certificates are available through organisations like the Camping and Caravanning Club — worth exploring if you want to take campervans
• Selling food or drink means registering with your council's environmental health team at least 28 days before you start
• Alcohol sales need a licence — a Temporary Event Notice covers short events, but not a full season

Choosing the Right Field

Not every field makes a good campsite. Before you commit, walk the land in wet weather and ask:

• Access: Can a family car (and a motorhome, if you take them) get in and out safely? Is the gateway visible from the road, and is there space to pass?
• Ground conditions: Does it drain well, or does it turn into a bog after two days of rain? Reasonably level pitches matter more than a pretty view
• Water: Is there a mains supply nearby, or will you be refilling a bowser every day?
• Neighbours: Who can see and hear the site? A field next to a housing estate will generate complaints; complaints generate council attention
• Phone signal: Guests expect to be able to find you, and you need to be able to take bookings and payments
• The extras that sell pitches: a view, a pub within walking distance, a beach or attraction nearby. Pop-up guests are choosing an experience, not just a patch of grass

What It Costs to Set Up

This is where pop-up campsites shine: compared to the tens of thousands needed for a glamping site, a pop-up can be up and running for a few thousand pounds.

Mowing, strimming, and a daily tidy-round are your main running jobs. Most pop-up operators handle the day-to-day themselves or split it within the family — that's what keeps the margins attractive.

What to Charge — and What You Could Make

Pop-up pitches in the UK typically go for £15-£30 per night depending on location, facilities, and season. Tent-only fields with basic loos sit at the lower end; sites with showers, fire pits allowed, and a sea view can charge more than many permanent sites.

Weekends and school holidays will book out first — price them higher. Midweek in June will be quiet — consider midweek discounts or multi-night deals rather than leaving pitches empty.

Getting Found and Getting Booked

A pop-up site has a marketing problem a permanent site doesn't: you only exist for 60 days, so you can't spend years building reputation. The good news is that demand for last-minute UK camping massively outstrips supply every summer.

• Set up a Google Business Profile — even a seasonal site benefits from appearing on Google Maps, and it's free
• Use listing platforms for discovery — sites like Pitchup and Hipcamp specialise in surfacing smaller and temporary sites. Expect to pay commission on bookings they send you
• Take direct bookings too — a simple booking page of your own means repeat guests and word-of-mouth bookings don't cost you commission
• Local Facebook groups and community pages — pop-ups near events, festivals, or popular beaches fill fast when locals share them
• Tell the local pub, farm shop, and campsite that's always full — overflow referrals are free marketing

Run It Properly: Bookings, Payments, and Arrivals

Here's the trap with pop-up sites: because the site is temporary, it's tempting to run the admin on a temporary footing too — a notebook, a few texts, payments on arrival. That works for the first quiet week. It falls apart on the first sunny Friday in August when 15 parties arrive at once, three of them claim they booked, and you have no record of two of them.

Treat the booking side like a real business from day one:

• Take bookings online with live availability — with only 60 days to earn, a double booking or an empty pitch you thought was taken costs you proportionally more than it would a permanent site
• Take payment (or at least a deposit) at the time of booking — no-shows are brutal for short-season sites, and guests who've paid turn up
• Send automatic confirmations and arrival instructions — a temporary site in a field is genuinely hard to find. "What3words location, look for the blue gate after the church" in an automated pre-arrival email saves you a summer of phone calls
• Keep a guest list you can reuse — this year's guests are next year's opening-weekend bookings. An email in spring saying "we're back, same field, book here" is the cheapest marketing you'll ever do

Modern campsite booking systems cost from around £40 a month, and most let you pause or downgrade outside the season — so a 60-day site isn't paying for 12 months of software it doesn't need.

A Low-Risk Test for a Bigger Ambition

Perhaps the best thing about a pop-up campsite is what it tells you. Sixty days of real guests answers questions no business plan can: Does anyone want to camp here? What will they pay? What do they ask for that you don't have? Do you actually enjoy running a campsite?

Plenty of the UK's established campsites and glamping sites started exactly this way — a field, a season, a discovery that demand was real. If your pop-up books out, you'll have revenue, reviews, and hard evidence of demand to support a full planning application for a permanent site. And if it doesn't, you've risked a few thousand pounds and one summer, not your savings.

The window is generous, the setup costs are modest, and the summer demand is proven. If you've been looking at that spare field and wondering — this is the lowest-risk way to find out.