Planning Applications in South West England: What's Really Happening

The South West's planning landscape is defined by a collision between extraordinary natural beauty and a housing crisis that's tearing apart local communities. Nowhere is this more visible than in Cornwall and Devon, where the proliferation of second homes and holiday lets has pushed house prices beyond the reach of local workers.

In some Cornish parishes, over 40% of properties are second homes or holiday lets. St Ives famously introduced a "principal residence" policy through its neighbourhood plan in 2016 — requiring all new-build housing to be occupied as a primary residence — and other communities have followed. Cornwall Council has used Article 4 directions to remove permitted development rights for converting dwellings to short-term holiday lets (Class MA), and the government's 2024 Use Class changes introduced C5 (short-term rental) to give councils more control.

The region's landscape designations are extensive. The South West contains parts of two National Parks (Dartmoor and Exmoor), five AONBs (now National Landscapes) including the Cotswolds, Dorset, Cornwall, North Devon, and the Blackdown Hills, plus the entire Jurassic Coast UNESCO World Heritage Site. Each imposes constraints on development, with Dartmoor and Exmoor National Park Authorities acting as their own planning authorities.

Flood risk is a dominant planning concern across the region. The Somerset Levels and Moors experienced devastating flooding in 2013/14, permanently changing how flood risk is assessed for development in low-lying areas. The Environment Agency's flood maps increasingly constrain where new housing can be built, and sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) are now effectively mandatory on all major developments.

Bristol and the wider West of England Combined Authority area represent the region's urban growth engine. The Joint Spatial Plan — which proposed strategic development locations including housing on Green Belt land — was withdrawn in 2020 after failing at examination. Its replacement is still being developed, leaving a policy vacuum that has hampered strategic housing delivery across Bath, Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire.

Plymouth has pursued an ambitious waterfront regeneration programme, while Exeter's growth along the M5 corridor has produced major urban extensions at Cranbrook, Pinhoe, and Monkerton. Taunton is set to become a new garden town. These growth areas contrast sharply with the constrained rural communities where any new development is fiercely contested.

Agricultural and barn conversions remain a significant feature of South West planning. Class Q permitted development rights allow conversion of agricultural buildings to residential use, and the region sees a high volume of these applications. Quality concerns and the loss of genuinely agricultural land are recurring issues, with some authorities reporting that Class Q conversions are being used as a backdoor route to development in open countryside.