Pitched battle: Landowners rage as pop-up campsite rule change drags on

FARMERS and landowners across Wales have been left fuming after failing to maximise another holiday season in one of the sunniest summers on record.

- By ANDREW FORGRAVE Countryside and Tourism Editor

They'd been hoping for a regulatory change allowing them to extend the opening of popup campsites for up to 60 days each year.

As counterparts in England have been permitted to open campsites 60 days per year since July 2023 - more than twice as long as in Wales - landowners this side of the border claim they're at a competitive disadvantage. According to online booking website Pitchup.com, popup campsites in England earn an average 52% more than those in Wales.

Evan Owen, a retired planning consultant who runs a wild camping field in Dyffryn Ardudwy, Gwynedd, said the current 28-day provision was not long enough to run a campsite in changeable weather. He said: "We've had people stay with us in the summer who said how nice it would be to come back in the spring."

"What harm is there in people enjoying a field? One girl said she was looking out of her tent and she saw a buzzard land just outside. You won't get that in a normal campsite."

The Welsh Government launched two consultations on the issue in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

Following successive lockdowns and, in order to support domestic tourism, temporary permission was granted to extend the period allowed for campsites to open without planning consent.

In 2021, popup campsites could stay open for 56 days - a concession that lasted less than a year, after which the 28-day rule was restored.