Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has called for pop-up campsites to be regulated following concerns from North Wales residents.  

Landowners can open campsites for up to 56 days without planning permission, after rules were relaxed during the Covid pandemic. 

But Darren has been contacted by a number of residents who are concerned that this has led to a "free-for-all", harming rural communities. 

The MS is therefore calling for local authorities to use their licensing powers to regulate these facilities to ensure a level playing field with permanent campsite businesses. 

He said: 

"A number of constituents have been in touch in recent months to express their concerns about the extension of the period that pop up campsites can operate.

‘While the decision to extend the permitted development rights to allow pop up camp sites were well intended, I don’t think Ministers have fully appreciated the consequences for some communities.

"Campsites with planning permission are subject to rigorous scrutiny to ensure adequate access, infrastructure and facilities along with the impact on local residents, but the new 56 day rule means that sites can pop up anywhere without any consideration of such matters.

‘I want to see local authorities across Wales using their licensing powers to regulate these facilities to ensure a level playing field with permanent campsite businesses and to protect the interests of the communities in which they are situated."