St Michaels Church Knapps Lane Chaffcombe Chard Somerset TA20 4BJ Data via plota.co.uk

26/01495/TCA - Work to Trees Approved

Proposal

Notification of intent to Fell No. 1 Tree and Carry out Tree Surgery Works to No. 2 Trees within a Conservation Area. T1 - Cedar of Lebanon - Remove the large eastern scaffold limb exhibiting displacement and a developing crack at its union with the main stem. Restrict pedestrian access beneath the affected limb until works have been completed where practicable. Following removal of the eastern limb, undertake a substantial retrenchment reduction throughout the remaining crown. Reduce overall crown height by approximately 8-10m and lateral spread by approximately 4-6m, where suitable pruning points allow and with application of arboricultural judgement. Crown height reduction pruning cuts should generally not exceed 300mm diameter. Lateral spread reduction pruning cuts should generally not exceed 200mm diameter. Retain a compact crown framework and as much viable foliage as practicable. Reduce end-weight and wind loading on retained scaffold limbs whilst maintaining a broadly natural form and the tree's contribution to the churchyard landscape. Final aim should be to achieve a residual crown/stem bias to the south following completion works T2 - Monterey Pine - Remove the elongated southern scaffold limb back towards its point of origin, retaining a substantial stub where necessary to avoid the creation of an excessively large pruning wound at the branch union. Remove associated deadwood greater than 50mm diameter from the crown over areas of regular public access. Monitor the extent of crown dieback, basal cavity development and condition of retained scaffold limbs. Review the need for further retrenchment pruning should decline continue or additional defects become apparent T3 - Chestnut - Fell to near ground level and retain stump as a habitat feature where practicable Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
29 Jun 2026
✓
Approved
3 Aug 2026

Approved on 3 Aug 2026 · Delegated (Use on Recommendations) · Last checked 3 Aug 2026

Site constraints 7

Grade II* listed: Church of St Michael and All Angels
List entry 1056177 · 1 m away · 1 more listed building within 150 m (1 Grade II)
Listed building consent is needed for work that affects the special interest of a listed building, inside or out, on top of planning permission. Setting can be a consideration for buildings nearby; there is no fixed radius.
Show the other one with distances
Historic England ↗
Nutrient neutrality catchment: Parrett Catchment
New homes and overnight accommodation must show nutrient neutrality before approval.
Natural England advice: extra wastewater in these catchments harms protected habitats, so schemes must offset their nutrient load, usually through credits.
Chaffcombe conservation area
Demolition needs planning permission and permitted development is restricted.
The council must give weight to preserving or enhancing the area's character and appearance. Not every council has published its boundaries as open data.
Council document ↗
Agricultural land, grade 4
Poor quality farmland, not best and most versatile. 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.
Habitat network: Other Priority Habitats -NEX
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; Priority habitat 15 m away: Deciduous woodland.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No scheduled monument 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.

Work with planning data?

Every application in South Somerset - and every UK council - as a live feed, an API, or a bulk CSV export.

About Plota's data service

Important details

Application type
Work to Trees
Postcode
TA20 4BJ
Received
29 Jun 2026
Validated
29 Jun 2026
Ward
ILMINSTER
Parish
Chaffcombe
Target decision
10 Aug 2026
Decision
Application Permitted
Decision date
3 Aug 2026
Decision level
Delegated (Use on Recommendations)
Applicant
Show
Agent
PCC Church of St.Michael and All Angels, Chaffcombe

How this decision compares

Decided in 35 days from validation, 6 days faster than South Somerset's median of 41 for tree and landscaping works. Approved, as 97% of tree and landscaping works here are.

91%decided within 8 weeks
97%approved
272decided in the last year

Plota live figures for tree and landscaping works decided by South Somerset in the last twelve months, from validation. South Somerset decision record →

Public comments

No public comments yet.

Last counted 3 Aug 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Consultation & key dates

Alt. reference
PP-15045612
Planning Portal ref
PP-15045612
Statutory expiry
10 Aug 2026
Env. assessment
No