Temporary campsites are set to pop up around the country this year as the demand for UK holiday destinations soars. As the UK continues its steady journey out of lockdown but with many doubts and uncertainties around foreign travel, families are turning to camping and caravanning for a staycation break this summer.
With reports of sites booking up as soon as the Prime Minister announced the 'roadmap' for unlocking the country and demand quickly looking to strip supply, temporary relaxation of planning laws now allows pop-up campsites to be opened for 56 days without requiring planning permission. Previously landowners could only open temporary sites for 28 days. It is hoped that the relaxation of regulations will allow more options for a holiday, encouraging spending in local economies reliant on tourism through the Summer, and making the effort of opening a temporary site with suitable facilities an economically viable proposition.
Campsite booking website Pitchup report that temporary campsites are utilising all kinds of land with farmers opening up fields, stately homes allocating part of their land for camping, village pub beer gardens, show grounds and sports grounds. This could see more than 500 extra campsites this year, a huge increase on the 200+ extra sites that appeared after the end of the first lockdown in 2020.
This increased choice of campsites is good news for campers who have not been able to book early, with booking websites adding new options as they become available
With the staged lifting of lockdown regulations, only self-contained self catering holidays are opened up from April 12th so many of these new campsites won't be open until on or after May 17th
