Food, Drink & Hospitality

Run a campsite, caravan site or holiday park

Outdoor accommodation runs on a site licence from the local authority, then layers of safety duties that scale with what you offer — pitch electrics, private water supplies, pools and waterslides, and adventure activities for under-18s each bring their own regime. This guide covers the site itself; food, alcohol and employment route onward.

UK-wide
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UK-wide

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This guide is for campsites, touring and static caravan sites and holiday parks in Great Britain. (In Northern Ireland all tourist accommodation also needs Tourism NI certification — see the registration section below.) The licensing spine is the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960: most sites stationing caravans need planning permission and a site licence from the local authority, with conditions covering density, spacing, fire points and utilities. Residential park home sites add the Mobile Homes Act 2013 in England (Wales has its own Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013). Tent-only sites generally need planning permission rather than a caravan site licence.

A. Site licensing and park homes

B. Pitch utilities and water

Outdoor electrical installations — hook-ups, distribution pillars and site wiring — must be designed and periodically inspected to the wiring regulations' caravan and camping park provisions; weather exposure makes the inspection cycle shorter than for indoor installations. If the site draws drinking water from a borehole, spring or well rather than the mains, the private water supply rules apply: notify the local authority of the supply so it can risk-assess and monitor it.

C. Pools, waterslides and adventure activities

Pools and flumes are managed under health and safety law using the HSE's swimming pool guidance — supervision arrangements, water treatment and slide rules all flow from your risk assessment. If you provide caving, climbing, trekking or watersports to under-18s in return for payment, you need an adventure activities licence before you operate.

D. Events on site

If you host events on the park — live music, food festivals, rallies — the event safety duties below apply to you as the site operator as much as to any caterer or trader you bring in: you carry the health and safety duty for the event site, and larger events should be notified to the local authority's safety advisory group.

E. Registration schemes by nation

Wales opens its statutory visitor accommodation register on 1 October 2026 — campsite and holiday park operators register with the Welsh Revenue Authority (free), ahead of the visitor levy councils can charge from April 2027 (lower rate accommodation includes campsite pitches). In Scotland, short-term let licensing covers accommodation you provide; pitches where guests bring their own tent or caravan are excluded. In Northern Ireland all tourist accommodation needs Tourism NI certification.

  1. 1

    1. Get planning and the site licence

    Planning permission first, then the caravan site licence from the local authority; read the licence conditions — density, spacing, roads and fire points are enforceable.

  2. 2

    2. Sort the utilities

    Electrical installation certificate and periodic inspections for hook-ups; notify the local authority of any private water supply and act on its risk assessment.

  3. 3

    3. Get the activity licences

    Adventure activities licence before offering licensable activities to under-18s; run pools to the HSE guidance with written supervision arrangements.

  4. 4

    4. Check the per-nation schemes

    Wales: register with the WRA from 1 October 2026. Scotland: check whether your offer needs a short-term let licence. Northern Ireland: Tourism NI certification.

  5. 5

    5. Cover the business basics

    Employers' liability insurance if you employ anyone, public liability cover, food business registration for any shop or café, and a premises licence if you sell alcohol.

Go deeper

  1. 1

    Holiday lets on the same site

    Follow "Holiday let licensing and registration by nation" if you also let static units as self-catering accommodation.

  2. 2

    Farm sites

    Follow "Set up camping or glamping on your farm" if the site sits on an agricultural holding — the 60-day permitted development rules differ.

  3. 3

    The wider hospitality picture

    Follow "Which hospitality rules apply to your business" to route across the whole estate.

Official sources

Licensing and safety gateways for outdoor accommodation.