Campsite Planning

Pitchup.com welcomes Scottish Government announcement on planning control

Scotland’s rural economy is to receive a shot in the arm this year as the Scottish Government extends its relaxed attitude towards planning control.

The government has announced it will continue to encourage planning authorities not to take action over temporary breaches of planning controls by businesses recovering from the COVID pandemic, until September 2022.

The move enables farmers, landowners, and other rural businesses to set up pop-up tent campsites throughout the holiday season for longer than the prescribed 28 days without planning permission.

Temporary campsites enable farmers to generate thousands of pounds in extra revenue from the growing trend in staycations while supporting the wider rural economy as holidaymakers spend in local pubs, restaurants, and shops.

The move also means holiday parks can stay open for longer than the traditional season and bodies such as The Highland Council and South Ayrshire Council can continue to allow car parks and other appropriate locations to be used for overnight motorhome stops.

The creation of these ‘aires’, as they are known in Europe, helps to mitigate the impact of increased holiday traffic in areas that have become increasingly popular without the need for permanent infrastructure. France already has more than 6,000*.

Dan Yates, founder of Pitchup.com – the UK’s leading outdoor accommodation booking platform – welcomed the announcement by the Scottish Government.

The Westminster government, by contrast, ended an extension to Permitted Development Rights (PDR) enabling farmers and rural businesses south of the border to operate pop-up campsites for 56 days per year, on December 31st, 2021.

Mr Yates said: “The Scottish Government clearly recognises the value of agritourism to the rural economy and has extended the relaxed attitude to planning control to facilitate a muchneeded economic recovery from the COVID pandemic.

“The move is not only likely to benefit individual farmers and rural businesses by adding thousands of pounds of revenue to their bottom line, the benefit will also be felt by other local businesses and rural communities as a whole over the course of the summer.

“This is a very positive move by the Scottish administration and one we are delighted they have taken.”

Pop-up campsites are the quickest and easiest form of farm diversification at their most basic, requiring only running water and a toilet block to function.

They are also among the most lucrative, with figures from Pitchup.com showing a small site generates on average £12,500 of extra revenue across a holiday season, with many taking more than £50,000.

Pitchup’s best performing farm-based campsite last year took a total of £117,000.

Mr Yates added that the announcement was also great news for holidaymakers, who had the opportunity to explore new and remote parts of the country while remaining confident accommodation would be available.

“Last year, campsites popped up at a whole host of locations across the country ranging from livery yards and orchards to country parks and estates,” he said.

“The extension means more rural businesses will be able to get on board and provide a broader range of locations and experiences for visitors to try. The move is a win for farmers, rural businesses, the rural economy and the thousands of visitors Scotland attracts each year.”

Any Scottish farmers or landowners interested in setting up a pop-up campsite for the 2022 season can find out more at https://www.pitchup.com/howstart-campsite-caravan-park/ and https://www.pitchup.com/join/ or phone 0203 743 9975.