Townsend Farm, Williton To Bridgwater Road, East Quantoxhead, Nether Stowey TA5 1EH
Refused on 9 November 2026
Council decision: Prior approval is required and refused1 reason for refusal
Proposal
Application for prior notification for the erection of an agricultural building with access track
- Received
- 11 August 2026
- Council
- West Somerset
- Ward
- Watchet & Stogursey
- ReceivedReceived11 Aug
- ValidatedValidated19 Aug
- Consult.Consultation
- TargetTarget Date
- DecidedDecided9 Nov
Decided in 82 days
About this application
This is a planning application at Townsend Farm, Williton To Bridgwater Road, East Quantoxhead, Nether Stowey TA5 1EH. West Somerset has handled 2,128 applications of this type. This one was decided in 82 days, 4 weeks longer than West Somerset's typical decision time. There are no previous applications recorded at this address. In the past year there have been 72 applications across Watchet & Stogursey. We hold 789 applications in total for the TA5 postcode area.
Why it was refused
- The proposed agricultural building, by reason of its siting within an exposed and visually detached location in the Quantock Hills National Landscape, would fail to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, character and appearance of the protected landscape. Whilst the applicant has advanced operational reasons for selecting the site, insufficient evidence has been provided to demonstrate that the proposed location represents the least harmful available option within the wider agricultural holding or that adequate mitigation measures have been incorporated to minimise landscape impacts. The proposal therefore fails to satisfactorily address the siting, design and landscape impacts of the development and prior approval is refused under Schedule 2, Part 6, Class A of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended). Furthermore, the proposal fails to accord with the statutory duty set out in Section 85 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (as amended) and Policy N4 the National Planning Policy Framework. Bill Cotton MRTPI, Planning Director (Interim), Somerset Council Issued by Somerset Planning - West Team Date: 09 November 2026 N.B.
From the council's decision notice.
Application details
- Postcode
- TA5 1EH
- Parish
- East Quantoxhead
Planning application dates
- Date validated
- 19 August 2026
Applicant and agent
- Applicant
- Private applicant
Planning decision
- Case officer
- Neamh Stephenson
Site constraints
Designations at the address point. Ones next to the site may also apply.
- National Landscape (AONB): Quantock Hills
- Flood zone 1: Low probability (rivers and sea)
Not published by this council, so not checked: Article 4 directions and tree preservation orders. Ask the council if these matter.
Also checked, none recorded (21)
flood storage areas, conservation areas, listed buildings, green belt, scheduled monuments, World Heritage Sites, World Heritage Site buffer zones, registered parks and gardens, registered battlefields, Heritage at Risk entries, nutrient neutrality catchments, national parks, SSSIs, Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas, Ramsar sites, ancient woodland, national nature reserves, local nature reserves, heritage coasts and brownfield registers.
A guide only, from official open data; it is not a planning search. Flood zones cover rivers and sea, not surface water.
Data © Crown copyright and others · sources and licences
Contains public sector information from planning.data.gov.uk (MHCLG and local planning authorities), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The Historic England GIS Data contained in this material was obtained on 2026-11-03. The most publicly available up to date Historic England GIS Data can be obtained from HistoricEngland.org.uk.
© Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
© Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2026. All rights reserved. Flood Map for Planning, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Source: West Somerset
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