®Planning appeal decision
23 Dark Lane, Backwell, BS48 3NT
Planning appeal 3354477 at 23 Dark Lane, Backwell, BS48 3NT (North Somerset Council) was allowed on 8 April 2025 by Inspector Webb B, following an inquiry. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether the site is a suitable location for development of the scale proposed having regard to the function and role of the settlement, and the likely effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area, including designated heritage assets.
up to 125 dwellings (Class C3) with access off Dark Lane
- Authority
- North Somerset Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- residential · Major dwellings
- Inspector
- Webb B
- Postcode
- BS48 3NT
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the site is a suitable location for development of the scale proposed having regard to the function and role of the settlement, and the likely effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area, including designated heritage assets
- the effect of the development on highway safety
- the effect of the development on ecology, including its effect on the integrity of the North Somerset and Mendip Bats Special Area of Conservation (the SAC)
What decided it
The Inspector's conclusion that, despite conflict with out-of-date spatial policies, the scheme's compliance with heritage, design, highway safety and ecological policies meant it accorded with the development plan taken as a whole.
the benefits of housing delivery, including affordable and self-build housing, ecological enhancement and highway safety improvements, together with compliance with heritage, design and ecological policies, outweighed the limited and reduced-weight conflict with out-of-date spatial policies, resulting in overall accordance with the development plan
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy CS13Policy CS14Policy CS32Policy Development 1Policy CS5Policy DM10Policy CS12Policy DM24Policy DM8Policy Development 4Policy CS2Policy DM42
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 57
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
With an account
What an account adds to this decision
More decisions in North Somerset Council
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2025
- Dismissed4 June 20266004773Lower Laurel Farm, Summer Lane, Banwell, BS29 6LR
- Allowed18 February 20263373613Land On The South Side Of Coleridge Road,, Rear Of Weston Youth Centre,, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 3UW
- Allowed3 October 2025336749368 Beach Road, Weston-Super-Mare, BS23 4BG
- Dismissed26 September 20253356972Land to the East (Builders Yard) of the Guide Hut, Weston Road, Long Ashton, BS41 9BJ
- Dismissed2 September 20253364470Open Space, Trendlewood Way, Nailsea, BS48 4TA
The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.