Southcott Barton Westleigh Bideford Devon EX39 4NH Data via plota.co.uk

81510 - Agricultural Prior Notification Approved

Proposal

Prior notification for creation of agricultural access track Data via plota.co.uk

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View original council record ↗Last checked 14 Sept 2026, 23:45

Application progress

✓

Received

9 Mar 2026

✓

Approved

31 Mar 2026

Approved on 31 Mar 2026 · Delegated · Last checked 14 Sept 2026

Documents

View the documents on the council's website ↗

Site constraints 3

Agricultural land, grade 3a

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.

Also on the record

Radon affected area, class 4; National infrastructure project about 1695 m away: Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project.

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 Planning Inspectorate, 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: North Devon
Application type: Agricultural Prior Notification
Postcode: EX39 4NH
Received: 9 Mar 2026
Validated: 9 Mar 2026
Ward: INSTOW
Parish: WESTLEIGH
Case officer: Show
Decision: Prior Approval Not Required
Decision date: 31 Mar 2026
Decision level: Delegated
Applicant: Show
Agent: Steve Clements

How this decision compares

Decided in 22 days from validation, 25 days faster than North Devon's median of 47 for agricultural works. Approved, as 93% of agricultural works here are.

This one22d

Council47d

UK44d

77%decided within 8 weeks

93%approved

139decided in the last year

Plota live figures for agricultural works decided by North Devon in the last twelve months, from validation. North Devon decision record →

Consultation & key dates

Statutory expiry: 6 Apr 2026

Historical activity at this location

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

Within ~100m

Nearby activity

2019 Approved

Southcott Mill Road From Langmead To Wearland Westleigh EX39 4NH

Application for a lawful development certificate for existing use of land as residential…

70913 28 Feb 2020

North Devon

Planning Authority Score

6.1/10

Average

#99 of 296 councils

Relevant to this application:

Householder decisions

North Devon ranks #140 out of 296 councils for householder decision speed. 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

North Devon decision statistics

Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026

94%

Overall approval rate

Above avg (87%) #42 of 296

98%

Householder approved

Above avg (90%) #20 of 296

67%

Decided in 8 weeks

Above avg (63%) #140 of 296

45%

Extended time limit

Above avg (41%) #192 of 296

88%

Minor dwellings approved

220 decided (1-9 homes)

87%

Major dwellings approved

15 decided (10+ homes)

95%

Change of use approved

42 decided

939

Total decisions

58 refused in the year to March 2026