Farmers and landowners in Wales have until July 1 to make sure their voices are heard on extending Permitted Development Rights (PDR).

The Welsh government has launched a consultation on bringing PDR for temporary campsites and other land uses in line with English law.

The consultation proposes extending PDR in Wales from 28 days to 60 days per year for tents, campervans and motorhomes - but not touring caravans – the same rights enjoyed by English farmers and landowners since 2023.

It aims at addressing the competitive disadvantage many Welsh farmers and landowners feel compared to their English counterparts just over the border.

Dan Yates, founder of Pitchup.com, welcomed the consultation despite it being launched far later than the Welsh government initially proposed.

In a letter to the Chair of the Petitions Committee dated Sept 23, 2024, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Rebecca Evans, stated the Welsh government had anticipated running the consultation in autumn last year to enable the changes to be made in time for this year's summer camping season. 

However, Mr Yates added that now, that opportunity had been lost.

He said: "Whereas it is great to see the Welsh government once again engaging with these issues, they have set aside three months in which to gather people's views on them, when the season is almost upon us.

"The consultation doesn't end until July, and given the time it will take to change the legislation – should the government even decide to do that – then it will have little to no impact on struggling farmers this year.

"What a pity the government couldn't have stuck to its word, run the consultation much earlier and had the required legislation in place for the start of this holiday season."

This is the second time the Welsh government has consulted on extended PDR since the COVID pandemic.

The first consultation ran between November 21, 2021, and February 15, 2022, but despite repeated calls, the assembly refused to announce the results.

Pitchup.com used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the responses, which revealed 71 respondents were in favour of extending PDR versus just 29 who were against it.

Yet in spite of this, the Welsh government remained tight-lipped on the issue until announcing the second consultation in the second half of last year.

Mr Yates branded this as ridiculous as out of all the countries that make up the UK, Wales has most to gain by extending PDR. 

Pitchup.com's own data shows 34% of holidays in Wales involve camping or caravaning compared to just 20% in England and 21% in Scotland.

"This all began with the COVID pandemic when PDR was temporarily extended to 56 days in England and Wales to facilitate a recovery of the rural economy and provide extra capacity for people to holiday in the UK," Mr Yates said. 

"It soon became apparent this was a major driver of new income into rural communities - more so in Wales than anywhere else.

"Our figures alone demonstrate it injected an extra £25m into the UK rural economy in 2021, with half of this spend taking place off-site, meaning countless local restaurants, pubs, shops, and small businesses benefited. 

"As a result, the Westminster government consulted on the issue in April 2023 and had changed the law by July 2023 to bring a huge boost to the agritourism sector.

"The Welsh government were the first to consult on extending PDR, back in 2021, yet are still many months off a change the law, if in fact they decide to do that.

"But with a 76% year-on-year growth in UK camping bookings yesterday, I just hope history doesn't repeat itself and Welsh farmers and landowners end up missing out on vital income yet again."

As well as extending PDR to 60 days per year, the latest proposals also include a 100m buffer zone which would prohibit temporary campsites being set up within 100m of a 'protected building' – a dwelling not occupied by the landowner or campsite operator.

This, the Welsh government claims, would remove concerns expressed by some residents about the 'disruption caused by living next to a pop-up campsite'.

A prior notification procedure would also be in place to ensure issues of vehicular access and waste water management are agreed with the local planning authority.

Under article 4 of the General Permitted Development Order, local authorities will have the power to withdraw or restrict the right to run a pop-up campsite where the road network cannot accommodate a temporary increase in traffic.

The extended PDR would not apply on a site of a scheduled monument, in a safety hazard area, in a military explosives storage area, on a site of a listed building or within Flood Zones 2 and 3. 

To take part in the consultation, click here https://www.gov.wales/node/67735/respond-online.