Woody Bay, Barnstaple, EX31 4QX Data via plota.co.uk

EXM/26/144/FULL - Full Planning Permission Approved
Change of useCommercial premises

Proposal

Change of use of existing lodge from holiday accommodation to residential accommodation ancillary to the main dwelling at Martinhoe Manor. Data via plota.co.uk

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View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
18 Jun 2026
✓
Approved
21 Aug 2026

Approved on 21 Aug 2026 · Delegated · Last checked 6 Sept 2026

Documents 1

Statements & assessments 1

PDF Screening Assessment Documents - Screening Assessment · 2 Jul 2026 View ↗

All documents on the council site ↗

Site constraints 9

Exmoor National Park
The park authority decides applications here. Great weight to conserving the landscape; major development restricted.
Landscape, scenic beauty and wildlife carry great weight, and major development is only allowed in exceptional circumstances.
Public footpath about 15 m away
Matters where it crosses or adjoins the site: obstructing a path without a diversion order is an offence, and work cannot start until the order is confirmed.
Compiled from highway authority data, not the legal definitive map. A few authorities have not published, so no path shown is not proof there is none.
Heritage coast: Exmoor
A defined stretch of undeveloped coastline.
Development inconsistent with keeping the coast undeveloped is resisted.
Special area of conservation about 59 m away: Exmoor & Quantock Oakwoods
Work nearby can need a habitats assessment.
Harm to a protected site is only accepted where there is no alternative and an overriding public interest.
SSSI about 59 m away: West Exmoor Coast and Woods SSSI
Natural England may need consulting, depending on what is proposed.
Sites of special scientific interest are the best wildlife and geological sites in the country. Development likely to harm one is rarely permitted.
Habitat network: Maritime cliff and slope
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
Radon affected area, class 5
An estimated 10 to 30% of homes reach the radon action level. Indicative for the 1 km square, which takes the highest class found in it; a radon test gives the answer for a building.
From the British Geological Survey and UK Health Security Agency indicative atlas. Under building regulations, as the BRE guide BR 211 (2023) sets out, new buildings and extensions need basic radon protection from class 3 in England and Wales and from class 2 in Scotland, and full protection from class 5. The class at the site itself, from the detailed BGS map, decides which.
UKHSA radon ↗
Also on the record
Priority habitat about 9 m away: Deciduous woodland,Maritime cliff and slope; Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s) had this area as grade 5, but it predates the buildings here and the current map does not class it as farmland.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 6 October 2026. The pin for this application is the centre of its postcode rather than the building, so distances to nearby designations are measured from the postcode and can be out by the width of the postcode area. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England, the British Geological Survey and UK Health Security Agency (radon, contains BGS materials © UKRI) and council datasets, Open Government Licence. A boundary can run through a site and the council holds the definitive record: confirm with the council before relying on this.

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Important details

Council
Exmoor
Application type
Full Planning Permission
Postcode
EX31 4QX
Received
18 Jun 2026
Validated
18 Jun 2026
Case officer
Show
Target decision
24 Aug 2026
Decision
Approved with Conditions
Decision date
21 Aug 2026
Decision level
Delegated
Applicant
Show
Agent
Kast Architects

How this decision compares

Decided in 64 days from validation, 7 days faster than Exmoor's median of 71 for full applications. Approved, as 96% of full applications here are.

37%decided within 8 weeks
96%approved
21%go to committee

Plota live figures for full applications decided by Exmoor in the last twelve months, from validation. Exmoor decision record →

Public comments

No public comments yet.

Last counted 6 Sept 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Consultation & key dates

Consultation
24 Jun 2026
Comments by
23 Jul 2026
Statutory expiry
24 Aug 2026

Historical activity at this location

2 nearby applications on record - archival context, not part of the live application.

Within ~100m

Nearby activity

2020 Approved
OLD COACH HOUSE, WOODY BAY, PARRACOMBE, BARNSTAPLE, EX31 4QX
Works to Trees subject to a Tree Preservation Order: T1. Remove damaged, hanging limb. T2…
WTPO 20/08
2019 Approved
Springside, The Bay Apartments, Woody Bay, Parracombe, Barnstaple, Devon
Lawful Development Certificate for the existing use of apartment as a residential dwellin…
62/43/19/003
Exmoor
Planning Authority Score
4.4/10
Below average
#179 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Change of use

Exmoor is slower than most councils at deciding householder applications, ranking #248 out of 296. 52% of applications have the time limit extended, above the 41% national average. Householder applications are more likely to be approved here than most councils, with a 98% approval rate vs 90% nationally.

More permissive than most councils
98% approved vs 90% nationally
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Exmoor decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
96%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #10 of 296
98%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #15 of 296
47%
Decided in 8 weeks
Below avg (63%) #248 of 296
52%
Extended time limit
Above avg (41%) #234 of 296
100%
Minor dwellings approved
4 decided (1-9 homes)
96%
Change of use approved
26 decided
174
Total decisions
7 refused in the year to March 2026
Source: MHCLG planning statistics · See full council rankings