Rear extension and garden works at 121 Cranbrook Road, Bristol
Summary of planning committee decision
Decided by Bristol Planning Committee B on 19 Nov 2025.
What was proposed
The application concerned a proposed 5m single-storey rear extension and works to level the rear garden.
“25/11300/H - 121 Cranbrook Road Bristol BS6 7DE Proposed 5m single storey rear extension and works to level the rear garden.”
Officer report
Main planning issues
Members considered land stability, ground conditions, drainage, topography, retaining walls, neighbouring effects and whether the scheme complied with planning policy.
“The Deputy Head of Planning reported that for this application there were other regimes that interacted with planning matters. In the context of the NPPF it was clear that where a site was affected by land stability it was the responsibility of the developer and landowner to ensure a safe development. The NPPF also stated that planning decisions should ensure that a site was suitable for its proposed use taking account of ground conditions.”
“Finally, there was common law which could include natural right to support land in its natural state. He emphasised that none of these matters outside of the planning process were relevant to the assessment of the application; 2. Some conditions would need to be discharged before development could commence. Condition 3 of the committee presentation related to policy DM37 and to the suspected unstable land assessment following on from the contaminated land consultation; 3.”
Minutes
What members discussed
Members raised concerns about the scale of the retaining walls, views, overshadowing, the site’s topography and insufficient detail for approval.
“OFFICIAL 8. It was confirmed that the retaining wall would be 6.7m at the highest point and would slope down with the land on the other side. It was concerning that these were two really big walls and it wasn’t possible to know whether the tops of the walls were going to cut into the neighbouring view or at ground level. It was confirmed that this concern could be addressed with a condition on details of those boundaries and the boundary treatment; 9.”
“There were sympathies for all concerned as it was a complicated scheme requiring a huge amount of excavation and would be very costly with many conditions to surmount; 13. There was insufficient detail to be able to approve the scheme and conditions were relied on to make up for this; 14. There being no further discussion the Chair moved the Officer recommendation and it was seconded and on being put to the vote it was:-”
Minutes
The committee vote
The Chair moved and a member seconded the officer recommendation, with the vote ending four for and four against before the casting vote.
“Resolved – (4 for, 4 against and with the Chair’s casting vote was carried) That the application be granted subject to conditions.”
Minutes
The members' reasons
The minutes do not record the members' reasons for departing from the officers' recommendation.
Sources
- Bristol Planning Committee B minutes, 19 November 2025
- Agenda and papers (council website)
Source: Plota analysis of Bristol's committee minutes and officer report. Quotations are the council's own words; headings and summaries are Plota's.
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See the API →At the meeting
- Committee
- Bristol Planning Committee B
- Council
- Bristol
- Date
- Wednesday 19 November 2025
- Recommendation
- Officers recommended refusal
- Committee decided
- Approved, against officer advice
- Vote
- 4 for, 4 against (chair's casting vote)
- Minutes
- The council's minutes
- Meeting
- Agenda and papers (council website)
- Application
- The application (council website)
- All decisions
- Bristol committee decisions →
Source: Plota analysis of the minutes.