Does anyone know a definition of a campsite pitch size? Our local site has planning for 70 pitches but the council are happy for them to have over 250 tents. Apparently there is no definition of how many tents are in a pitch. They advertise several tents per pitch.
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Planning permission will be based on number of expected visitors, parking etc etc but there is no defined measurement for a tent pitch size.
Have you ever seen Glastonbury?
The biggest risk with tents being close together is fire spread.
If numbers are causing nuisance you may have grounds to raise a complaint with the local authority. Whether this be planning, environmental protection, highways etc.
Sizes vary from site to site.
Some are only just big enough for 1 4 berth tent, others you could put up a marquee on.
If the pitches are big enough to accommodate 3 or 4 tents each paying a nightly fee then the owner is not going to complain.
How long is a piece of string…
Others will add their thoughts. Meanwhile, it sounds like you’re looking to raise concerns about the higher number of tents, in the appropriate channels.
Look up Camping & Caravanning Club (CCC) to find their dimensions for pitches for tents & jumbo pitches - tents vary in size. So a site might take a few jumbo tents or many single person backpacking tents. And independent sites might have more generous sized pitches, more widely spaced, than club sites.
Sites that charge per tent may allow one per pitch; if they charge per person, they may / may not allow several units on one pitch eg a group of small tents for sleeping, around one larger cooking tent.
Then add the approximate safety rule of 6m gap between tents that aren’t camping together, because of the fire risk of gas stoves & heaters that could spread to adjacent people / property. Sites may opt for more than the minimum distance too, because it’s more pleasant.
Then consider the shape of the whole area, there might be more scope for higher numbers in regimented rows in a square field than randomly spaced in an irregular area.
And if vehicles have to be parked in a car park at the entrance, there’s no need for site roads, freeing up more space for tents.
Plus: there’ll be site toilets & showers far tents, but there may or may not be a camp kitchen with freezer, or a tv room, or a play area, or a reception building with or without a wee shop, plus bike secure storage. They all reduce the area for tents.
Not sure there is a defined pitch size, sites often have differing pitch sizes, "small tent", "large tent", "caravan/MH with awning", "caravan/MH without awning" etc., but often without any published dimensions. There are sites where only caravan/MHs below a certain (quite modest!) length can use it (for practical reasons of manoeuvring). Hard standing pitches are by their very nature quite well defined, but non-delineated grass pitches seem quite flexible!
It's complicated as to how a site may be used, and minimum distances to be maintained between units (firstly define a unit! - is it main unit AND 'pup' tents. Or is it each individual tent. Or are 'pup tents' ignored and only main unit considered etc.?) I've seen sites where the definition of a main unit is only ones that contain cooking/heating appliances!
The 6m fire gap between caravans/MHs etc. appears to be a recommendation, not anything enforceable! Site owners insurance seeking compliance with fire regulation guidance may be as close to enforcement as it gets!
I've certainly stayed on 'pop-up' sites where SHORT tent guys cross over the neighbours guys, cheek by jowl pitching!
As sites are licensed and regulated by local authorities, it's possible there is no universal country wide rules, but variations between authorities!
As a caravaner, I'm aware of variations on camp sites where some allow 'pup tents' (for the kids etc), event shelters etc. on their standard pitches, and some ban them outright, and it's not always about charging extra for them. Trying to book a site, you need to read the small print/site rules, as such variation and lack of standardisation.
I don’t know about tent pitches, but some of the sites we have visited on the continent the size of a caravan pitch seems to be controlled by the amount of space you need to open your caravan door.
Quote: Originally posted by Monty15 on 23/7/2025
Not sure there is a defined pitch size, sites often have differing pitch sizes, "small tent", "large tent", "caravan/MH with awning", "caravan/MH without awning" etc., but often without any published dimensions. There are sites where only caravan/MHs below a certain (quite modest!) length can use it (for practical reasons of manoeuvring). Hard standing pitches are by their very nature quite well defined, but non-delineated grass pitches seem quite flexible!
It's complicated as to how a site may be used, and minimum distances to be maintained between units (firstly define a unit! - is it main unit AND 'pup' tents. Or is it each individual tent. Or are 'pup tents' ignored and only main unit considered etc.?) I've seen sites where the definition of a main unit is only ones that contain cooking/heating appliances!
The 6m fire gap between caravans/MHs etc. appears to be a recommendation, not anything enforceable! Site owners insurance seeking compliance with fire regulation guidance may be as close to enforcement as it gets!
I've certainly stayed on 'pop-up' sites where SHORT tent guys cross over the neighbours guys, cheek by jowl pitching!
As sites are licensed and regulated by local authorities, it's possible there is no universal country wide rules, but variations between authorities!
As a caravaner, I'm aware of variations on camp sites where some allow 'pup tents' (for the kids etc), event shelters etc. on their standard pitches, and some ban them outright, and it's not always about charging extra for them. Trying to book a site, you need to read the small print/site rules, as such variation and lack of standardisation.
Thanks. Very helpful. As you say, they are licensed by local authorities but there seems to be no defininition. You get a license for x pitches and you can then have as many tents as you like. A 20 pitch site could then have 100 tents, assuming they have the physical space.
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Topic: Pitch size
via mobile 22/7/2025 at 5:31pm
