Apply for a Freedom Camping Club caravan or camping site exemption

Why apply for an exemption

Caravan and camping site exemptions are an easy and flexible method of operating a caravan and/or camping site without the need to apply for a license and planning approval from your Local Planning Authority.

An exemption allows flexibility to grow and adapt to new markets easily. No rigid planning approval or restrictive conditions, switch units from touring caravans to glamping pods without new applications, mix and match option to suit you and the Club.

You get the benefit and support of an established and experienced organisation that can help deal with planning issues, complaints and queries, marketing and promoting your new site and offer discounts on essential services and more...

Extend your existing pop up site to all year use or additional capacity, offer diverse and flexible options for glamping, wild camping and more... The Club supports many type of caravan and tent units read our movable dwelling guidelines for more information.

Access to over 41,000 members customer base to jumpstart your business. Co-operate and contribute in an established business community with companies such as Pitchup, Campsites.co.uk, Sykes cottages, Air BnB and more than 400 other Freedom Camping Club certified sites.

Who should apply for an exemption

Whether your plans are to run a small 5 van site, a 100 pitch camping site, a single shepherds hut or promote a new and emerging recreational market, we have an option to help you.

The Club is looking for applicants with a long term view of offering a value and quality service. You may want to start small and invest in facilities over time or get everything in place from the start. We want to see a commitment to providing a quality service to members and encouraging non members to join the Club.

We don't want applicants who want to get the most from offering the least. If you can't commit 100% of your energy to the site, there may be more suitable options, such as Class BC of Part 4 permitted development.

What you need to know

The Club is a recreational organisation with special legal rights to enable the club to promote and encourage camping and caravanning. This is a different option to other permitted development rights or a Local Authority license/planning approval. Each scheme has benefits and drawback that will suit your needs, please read our UK campsite Law guide to help you decide which option is best for you.

If you apply and are accepted for a Club exemption you will need to abide by the Clubs terms and conditions.

What happens next

Every proposed site is assessed for suitability, desirability, safety and environmental impact. This process takes time and effort to complete and we require your full co-operation to ensure our decision is the correct one. Other organisation may offer a quick turn around or a higher probability of acceptance. We can not support you if we have made mistakes or have not accounted for an aspect that is latter challenged by a third party. Our process is thorough and time consuming, current decision times are around 8-16 weeks and can take longer in sensitive areas or if other complications arise.

Complete the online application fully, provide all the information requested in as much detail as possible. Be honest and frank, early identification of issues saves time, effort and costs. Some issues may result in an automatic refusal, where others may require some workarounds or special conditions, knowing these early helps to tailor our approach.

Step 1:

Application review - we will review the information provided, if this is incomplete, insufficient or the application is unlikely to succeed, we may decline the application. We will refund any fees paid and inform you of the reason for taking this action. You may resubmit your application providing any missing or insufficient information.

If your application is accepted for assessment, this does not indicate the application will be successful, only that we will undertake further assessment.

Step 2:

Desktop assessment - We will complete our desktop assessment, producing a report, highlighting any concerns or limitations. If we consider the application will not succeed your application may be declined.

We may ask for further information, which may include copies of title deeds or professional surveys such as a phase 1 habitat survey or landscape and visual impact assessment. We will only ask for these where necessary but your application may be held in a pending state until information is provided.

The fee for the desktop study is £65, if your application is declined or you decide not to proceed after this process is complete, we will refund any fees paid, minus the desktop assessment fee.

Aspects considered - including but not limited to:

• Highway safety and amenity - Stopping sight distances, visibility splays, highway capacities
• Environmental impact - Flood risk, nutrient pollution, drinking water safeguarding
• Historic impact - Scheduled monuments, World heritage sites
• Conservation impact - AONB visual amenity, SSSI impact, SAC/SAC/Ramsar impact
• Ecological impact - Protected species, Wildlife habitats
• Land designations - Green belt, Area of Great Landscape Value
• Civil obligation - Restrictive covenants, easements
• Community impact - Local residents impact, local amenities impact
• Sustainability- public transport, local shops, public houses, local recreational activities
• Desirability and appeal - Aesthetic value, local attractions, site amenity
• Supervision and management - emergency access, out of hours supervision, conflict resolution
• Regulatory compliance - Permitted development, article 4 directions, planning history

Consultations - We will consult with Local Planning Authorities in all cases, we will consult with Natural England or National Resources Wales, where impact risk zones dictate this is required and consult with local residents when we consider there is likely impact.

This process can take 4-16 weeks, depending on how many parties require consultation and if those parties are to be consulted simultaneously or serially.

The fee for this process is £60.

Step 4:

Site inspection -

• The site inspection will take around 1^1/2 hours.
• We will verify all the information collected.
• Take photographs including aerial images if possible.
• Explain any limitation or restriction, answer any questions.
• Site inspection fee is £160.

Step 5:

Final review and decision- Once complete if your site is deemed suitable we will make a formal offer of exemption, this may include conditions and require further evidence of facilities and/or agreements to undertake actions.

We may also offer

• Informal planning advice
• Marketing advice

• Site images preferably showing North, East, South and West aspects
• Images of the site entrance, from the road into the site, looking left and right from the site entrance.
  (take images looking left and right from 2m away from the road edge and at a height of around 1m from the ground)
• Site plan, showing boundaries, pitch locations, toilets and other amenities.
• Any relevant documents, including planning notices ( enforcement, declined applications , S106 agreements etc )
• Statement of intent - highlight your motivation and vision, what type of site you hope to be, who is your target market, identify obstacles and how you will overcome them.
• Total application fee of £285