Filming Locations: Fields, Woodland and Protected Sites

A field, woodland or rural estate can look like an easy filming location because there is no building to disturb. In planning terms, though, the answer depends on what the production brings with it and how different the temporary activity is from the normal use of the land.

A small crew walking onto land with handheld equipment may make no material change at all. A larger production with access tracks, lighting, catering, generators, temporary sets, unit vehicles and repeated filming days can raise planning and environmental controls very quickly.

This page explains the main location checks for filming on open land in England, including Class B, Class E, sites of special scientific interest, protected trees, heritage designations and access.

Does a filming location in a field need planning permission?

No. Commercial filming is not automatically development just because it takes place outdoors. The first question is whether there is a material change in the use of the land or operational development such as engineering works, structures or other physical changes.

A few people with cameras in an agricultural field for an afternoon may leave the planning character of the land untouched. Bring in substantial trackway, large lighting rigs, temporary buildings, catering areas, repeated traffic and set construction and the position may be very different.

There is no fixed statutory threshold at which a film shoot crosses that line. Scale, duration, intensity, physical works and the normal use of the land all matter.

Class B for short temporary uses

Class B of Part 4 can permit the temporary use of land for up to 28 days in a calendar year, together with moveable structures needed for the permitted use.

It is a useful route for some short outdoor productions, but it is not available where the land in question is a building or within the curtilage of a building. It also now excludes the siting of any caravan apart from a narrow festival exception, which can be important if a unit base sits on the same land.

Class B does not remove separate ecological, tree, highway or landowner controls.

Class E for commercial filmmaking

Class E is the specific commercial filmmaking right. It can apply to land or buildings for up to 12 months in any 27-month period and can include temporary structures, works, plant and machinery required in connection with filming.

Class E requires prior approval before each new filming period. It also has important location exclusions, so it should never be treated as a universal permission for a production that happens to be temporary.

Sites of special scientific interest

Class E cannot be used where the land or site on which the building is located is or forms part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Natural England also operates a separate consent regime. Each site has its own list of operations requiring consent, and Natural England says third-party activities such as events or surveying can also need consent where they may damage the special interest. The owner or occupier should therefore check the notification and obtain advice before agreeing access or works.

Natural England’s current SSSI guidance should be read alongside the planning position.

Woodland, protected trees and access works

Filming in woodland can affect trees even where no tree appears to be felled. Trackway, heavy vehicles, excavation, temporary foundations, lighting positions and repeated access can damage roots or require pruning.

A Tree Preservation Order is a separate control from planning permission. Works to protected trees can require consent even where the filming itself benefits from permitted development. Trees in conservation areas, felling licences and ancient or veteran trees may add further controls.

For substantial woodland locations I would want the production’s ecologist or arboricultural adviser involved at the same time as the planning assessment, not after set-up has begun.

Conservation areas, National Landscapes and other article 2(3) land

Class E cannot be used on article 2(3) land. That includes conservation areas, National Parks, National Landscapes, the Broads and World Heritage Sites.

Again, the designation does not mean a tiny filming activity automatically becomes development. It means that where the production does need a planning permission route, Class E is unavailable and another route may be required.

Scheduled monuments and listed buildings

Class E is unavailable where land or a building is or contains a scheduled monument, and where the land or building is a listed building or within the curtilage of one.

Separate heritage consent can also be needed for physical works. Temporary set construction, fixings, ground disturbance or alterations should be checked rather than assuming their short duration makes them harmless in legal terms.

Access, highways and traffic

A rural filming location can fail operationally because the planning route has been checked but the access has not. HGV movements, narrow lanes, temporary entrances, verges, parking and bankside loading can require highway input or make the proposed location impractical.

Class E prior approval expressly allows the local planning authority to consider transport and highways effects. Separate highway permissions may still be needed. See our filming permits and location permissions guide.

Flood risk, lighting and noise

Class E prior approval also deals with flood risk, noise and artificial lighting. Open land beside rivers, low-lying fields and rural locations with little background light can therefore require more evidence than the production initially expects.

The practical lesson is to assess the whole production footprint, not just the patch of ground visible in the shot.

Location checklist

• identify the lawful and normal use of the land
• map the full filming, set, access and unit-base area
• check Class B and Class E separately
• check SSSI, protected trees, conservation, landscape and heritage designations
• review access, parking and highway constraints
• identify temporary works, trackway, lighting, generators and ground disturbance
• bring ecology and arboricultural specialists in early where needed

A filming location which looks perfect on a recce can still be the wrong choice if the consents cannot be obtained within the production timetable.

Filming and photography planning resources

Location filming can involve planning permission, permitted development, private or public land permissions, roads, protected sites, production bases and drone restrictions. Use the guide which best matches the issue you are dealing with.

Filming Locations Page Created: 11th October 2026