Campsites could start appearing on parts of Gower without planning permission, after a change in the law slipped past the protections the council has relied on for nearly half a century.
The Welsh Government has introduced a new right that lets landowners use their land as a recreational campsite without applying for planning permission, within limits.
Across most of Wales, that allows camping for up to 60 days a year. In protected landscapes such as the Gower National Landscape, the cap is lower, at 28 days.
The change took effect on 1 June, and councillors will be told about its impact at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
The catch for the council is that the new right falls outside its existing protections for the area.
Since 1979, an Article 4 Direction covering the Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty has meant that camping and most caravanning needs a full planning application, rather than being allowed automatically.
But the new right, known as Class BA, is not covered by that 1979 direction. It means that, subject to the rules, recreational camping can now go ahead on Gower without the council signing it off first.
There are limits on where it can happen. Camping is excluded from sites of special scientific interest, special conservation areas, flood zones, scheduled monuments, listed building sites and land within 100 metres of someone’s home, among others.
Landowners must also apply to the council beforehand each year for a decision on toilet and wastewater facilities, waste disposal and how vehicles will reach the site.
A council report says those restrictions mean fewer sites will qualify than under the old, broader camping rules.
Officers are not recommending an immediate response. Instead, they want to monitor the impact over the next two years before deciding whether a new Article 4 Direction is needed.
The report, by development manager Ian Davies, says bringing in a new direction would need significant resources and a strong evidence base, balancing support for tourism against protecting the landscape.
It warns that acting without that evidence could leave the council open to legal challenge, and could see Welsh ministers step in and block any new direction.
Monitoring would track landscape and traffic impacts, pressure on utilities and any effect on residents, measured through the number of prior-approval applications and enforcement complaints.
If the evidence later shows a new direction is justified, a further report would go back to Cabinet.
Cabinet meets on Thursday, 25 June, when members are asked to note the changes and approve the monitoring plan.
