Land Adjacent Boathyde Churchill Way Northam Devon EX39 1NX Data via plota.co.uk

1/0524/2026/FUL - Full Application Refused

Proposal

Change of use of land from agricultural to domestic for creation of 2 parking spaces (Affecting a public right of way) Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
20 Jul 2026
✓
Validated
7 Aug 2026
✓
Consultation
17 Aug 2026
✗
Refused
1 Oct 2026
Appeal
Not lodged

Refused on 1 Oct 2026 · Delegated Decision · Last checked 2 Oct 2026

Documents 21

Consultation & comments 11

PDF Objector’s name hidden Show Objection Comment · 21 Sept 2026 View ↗
PDF Objector’s name hidden Show Objection Comment · 13 Sept 2026 View ↗
PDF Objector’s name hidden Show Objection Comment · 10 Sept 2026 View ↗
PDF TOWN COUNCIL Consultee Comment · 7 Sept 2026 View ↗
PDF Objector’s name hidden Show Objection Comment · 3 Sept 2026 View ↗
PDF Objector’s name hidden Show Objection Comment · 3 Sept 2026 View ↗
PDF Objector’s name hidden Show Objection Comment · 1 Sept 2026 View ↗
PDF Objector’s name hidden Show Objection Comment · 1 Sept 2026 View ↗
PDF SOUTH WEST WATER Consultee Comment · 26 Aug 2026 View ↗ PDF DCC HIGHWAYS (WEEKLY LIST) Consultee Comment · 25 Aug 2026 View ↗
PDF Objector’s name hidden Show Objection Comment · 24 Aug 2026 View ↗

All documents on the council site ↗

Site constraints 8

Public footpath 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.
Agricultural land, grade 3b
Not best and most versatile land (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Source: the Predictive Agricultural Land Classification Map (Defra and Natural England, 2025; the Welsh Government's Predictive ALC Map 2 in Wales), a model rather than a site survey. Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s) agrees.
Where development of farmland is needed, policy prefers poorer land over the best and most versatile (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Three sources: Natural England's post-1988 field surveys, which are definitive where they exist; the Defra predictive map for England (2025) and the Welsh Government predictive map, modelled from the soil map with 3a and 3b split; and the 1970s provisional map, which planners and other services still show, coarser and with grade 3 undivided. Where the provisional and predicted grades disagree, treat the predicted grade as the current estimate and expect an application to carry its own survey.
SSSI 53 m away: Taw-Torridge Estuary 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: Network Enhancement Zone 1
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
Also on the record
Radon affected area, class 4; Combe Martin to Marsland Mouth 28 m away; Priority habitat 28 m away: Coastal saltmarsh; Flood defence 48 m away (natural high ground, designed for a 1 in 5 year flood).
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No listed building at the site

Checked on 6 October 2026. 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
Torridge
Application type
Full Application
Postcode
EX39 1NX
Received
20 Jul 2026
Validated
7 Aug 2026
Ward
Northam
Parish
Northam
Case officer
Show
Target decision
2 Oct 2026
Decision
Application Refused
Decision date
1 Oct 2026
Decision level
Delegated Decision
Applicant
Show
Agent
DN Planning Services

How this decision compares

Decided in 55 days from validation, about the council's usual 56 days. Refused, as 5% of changes of use here are.

62%decided within 8 weeks
95%approved
74decided in the last year

Plota live figures for changes of use decided by Torridge in the last twelve months, from validation. Torridge decision record →

Public comments

7comments received
7 objecting

100% object · above the UK average of 74%

4 neighbours consulted · Last counted 2 Oct 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Consultation & key dates

Neighbours
9 Sept 2026
Consultation
17 Aug 2026
Comments by
3 Oct 2026
Site or press notice
21 Aug 2026
Statutory expiry
2 Oct 2026
Env. assessment
No
Torridge
Planning Authority Score
7.6/10
Good
#40 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Change of use

Torridge is faster than most councils at deciding householder applications, ranking #55 out of 296. 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
Torridge decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
87%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #184 of 296
98%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #25 of 296
78%
Decided in 8 weeks
Above avg (63%) #55 of 296
38%
Extended time limit
Below avg (41%) #133 of 296
72%
Minor dwellings approved
155 decided (1-9 homes)
85%
Major dwellings approved
13 decided (10+ homes)
82%
Change of use approved
11 decided
554
Total decisions
71 refused in the year to March 2026