Understanding planning · 13 min read
Planning application documents: what to read first
Understand planning application documents, officer reports and decision notices. Use a reading checklist, document table and worked example to inspect a case.
England · Local authority
Explore collected planning applications and decisions for Somerset Council. Search an address, application reference or proposal to find a record.
3,312 approved · 66 refused · 185 withdrawn. Most recent record check: 12 Oct 2026. Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.
Explore published planning boundaries and follow their source records for designation details. Coverage varies: an empty map does not mean there are no restrictions. Check the council’s current maps and documents before relying on a boundary.
Interactive planning map loads with JavaScript. Dataset sources are linked below.
Download Article 4 coverage for all authorities (CSV)
Data downloaded 14 Sept 2026. Display boundaries are simplified and indicative. Map record counts are not a complete count of designations or directions.
Sources: Planning Data conservation areas and Article 4 direction areas. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Hugh Sexey C of E Middle School, Blackford, WEDMORE, BS28 4ND
Received Not publishedSomerton Infants School, Etsome Terrace, Somerton, Somerset, TA11 6LY
Received Not publishedWhatley Quarry Whatley Frome Somerset BA11 3LF
Received Not publishedCopse Quarry, Landshire Lane, Henstridge, Somerset
Received Not publishedDoulting Stone Quarry, Chelynch Road, Doulting, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 4PZ
Received Not publishedLympsham C of E First School, Rectory Way, Lympsham, Weston super Mare, Somerset, BS24 0EW
Received Not publishedPriory Bridge Road Car Park & 84-94 Priory Bridge Road, Taunton Northern Inner Distributor Road (NIDR), Taunton, Somerset
Received Not publishedSomerset County Council Depot, Mead Avenue, Yeovil, Somerset, BA22 8RT
Received Not publishedLay By, off the A371, Axbridge
Received Not publishedSky College, Pickeridge Close, TAUNTON, TA2 7HW
Received Not publishedDoulting Stone Quarry, Chelynch Road, Doulting, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 4PZ
Received Not publishedBlackford Quarry Blackford Hill Yeovil Somerset BA22 7EA
Received Not publishedBowlish County Infants School, Bowlish, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 5JQ
Received Not publishedHolyrood Community School, Zembard Lane, CHARD, Somerset, TA20 1JL
Received Not publishedBatts Lane Quarry Long Sutton TA10 9NJ
Received Not publishedPoole Waste Transfer Station, Poole, Wellington, Somerset, TA21 9HH
Received Not publishedLand forming part of Westfield Farm, Keinton Mandeville, Somerton, Somerset, TA11 6DQ
Received Not publishedDunwear Depot, River Lane, Dunwear, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA7 0AA
Received Not publishedLand between 9 and 11, Parks Lane, MINEHEAD, Somerset, TA24 5NU
Received Not publishedP154 - Land adjoining Wilderness Drove, Sharpham
Received Not publishedSt Pauls Church of England Junior School, Paul Street, SHEPTON MALLET, Somerset, BA4 5LA
Received Not publishedDillington House, Somerset
Received Not publishedChilton Trinity School, Chilton Street, BRIDGWATER, TA6 3JA
Received Not publishedM5 J25 to A358/Ruishton Lane Junction.
Received Not publishedRecords are ordered by application ID, not submission date. Use search to find a particular address or proposal.
View all applicationsStart with the address or application reference. Open a record to read the proposal, dates and available documents, then check the official register for the latest plans and consultation details. If nothing appears, check coverage before treating the result as a complete planning history.
How to search planning applications
Understanding planning · 13 min read
Understand planning application documents, officer reports and decision notices. Use a reading checklist, document table and worked example to inspect a case.

Understanding planning · 13 min read
Read planning drawings, floor plans, elevations and sections. Use labelled diagrams, a drawing comparison table and revision checks to understand a proposal.

Property research · 13 min read
Understand planning approval rates with an interactive calculator, worked examples and comparison table. Check sample sizes, outcomes and coverage before comparing.
These figures describe applications collected by PlanningTrack for Somerset Council, across all dates currently available. They are a partial dataset, rather than an authority-wide performance measure. The date range does not establish continuous historical coverage.
The approval percentage is approved records divided by approved plus refused records. Pending, withdrawn and unknown outcomes are excluded. No percentage is shown until there is an approved or refused record.
Check collection coverage