Planning consultants and rural advisers for UK campsites

Most new campsites need planning permission for a change of use, unless they run as a pop-up or a club certificated site. A planning consultant or rural surveyor can tell you early whether your council is likely to say yes, and what it will want to see: access, parking, landscaping, drainage, ecology and how the site sits in the countryside.

Some firms here are planning specialists. Others are land agents who also advise on farm diversification as a whole, including tax, tenancies and grants. A few are ecologists or landscape architects, whose surveys councils often ask for with an application.

Before you choose one, ask:

• Have you worked on campsite or glamping applications with my council, or nearby?
• Will you do a pre-application enquiry with the council first?
• What surveys might the council ask for, and who would do them?
• Is your fee fixed, or by the hour, and what does it include if the council refuses?

If you're not sure which route fits your land, try the quiz below first. It shows which routes need planning permission at all.