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Class A: Use of Land as a Caravan Site
Class A of GPDO Part 5 permits land, other than a building, to be used as a caravan site in the specific circumstances imported from paragraphs 2 to 10 of Schedule 1 to the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960.
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What Class A actually permits
The GPDO does not create a free-standing caravan site right. Instead, Class A points to paragraphs 2 to 10 of Schedule 1 to the 1960 Act. Those licensing exemptions become part of the planning test.
The routes cover:
- Paragraph 2: a person travelling with one caravan for no more than two nights, subject to the detailed 28 day test in the Act
- Paragraph 3: qualifying holdings of at least five acres, subject to the detailed day and caravan limits in the Act
- Paragraph 4: land occupied and supervised by an exempted recreational organisation
- Paragraph 5: land approved by an exempted organisation, with no more than five caravans stationed for human habitation at one time
- Paragraph 6: a meeting arranged and supervised by an exempted organisation for its members, lasting no more than five days
- Paragraph 7: seasonal accommodation on agricultural land for people employed in farming operations on land in the same occupation
- Paragraph 8: seasonal accommodation for people employed on forestry land in the same occupation
- Paragraph 9: accommodation for people employed on qualifying building or engineering operations on the land or adjoining land
- Paragraph 10: qualifying travelling showmen, using the statutory term, while travelling for their business, but Class A expressly excludes the separate winter quarters limb
When the Class A circumstances stop applying, the GPDO requires the use to stop and the caravans to be removed as soon as reasonably practicable.
Paragraph 1 is not Class A
Schedule 1 also contains a paragraph 1 exemption for incidental caravan site use within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse. That is a site licensing exemption, but it is not one of the circumstances imported into Class A. The GPDO deliberately starts at paragraph 2.
A caravan within a residential curtilage therefore needs to be considered under the ordinary planning rules for the planning unit, the use and any operational development. See our Caravans section for that wider planning analysis.
Class A, exempted organisations and paragraph 13
Paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 depend on an organisation holding the relevant exemption under the 1960 Act. Natural England administers caravan club exemption certificates in England and publishes the current certificate holder list.
Several Schedule 1 exemptions are subject to paragraph 13. That provision allows an order to remove specified exemptions from identified land. Before relying on Class A, also check for any relevant paragraph 13 order and any Article 4 Direction affecting the land.
An exemption certificate does not automatically authorise extra buildings, hardstanding, car parks, toilet blocks or other infrastructure. Those works need their own planning assessment.
What counts as a caravan
The statutory caravan definition is wider than a conventional touring caravan, but mobility and human habitation still matter. A label such as lodge, pod, shepherd’s hut or container does not settle the issue by itself.
Our Caravans section deals with the statutory definition, twin unit dimensions, mobility and the difference between a caravan and a building. Keeping that detail there avoids turning this Class A page into a second caravan guide.
If Class A does not fit
Do not stretch one of the Schedule 1 exemptions to fit a proposal it was not written for. A different permitted development right or a planning application may be needed instead. Where the planning status is uncertain, a lawful development certificate can sometimes provide a formal answer.
Check the current cost of any application or certificate on our planning application fees page. If an application or certificate is refused, see our planning appeals guidance.
Relevant legislation for Class A
Class A: use of land as caravan site
Permitted development
A. The use of land, other than a building, as a caravan site in the circumstances referred to in paragraph A.2.
Condition
A.1 Development is permitted by Class A subject to the condition that the use is discontinued when the circumstances specified in paragraph A.2 cease to exist, and all caravans on the site are removed as soon as reasonably practicable.
Interpretation of Class A
A.2 The circumstances mentioned in Class A are those specified in paragraphs 2 to 10 of Schedule 1 to the 1960 Act, but in relation to those mentioned in paragraph 10 do not include use for winter quarters.
Class A Page Updated: 23rd September 2026