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3,312 approved · 66 refused · 185 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Hinkley Point C, Hinkley Point Power Station, Stogursey, BRIDGWATER, Somerset, TA5 1YA
Received Not publishedNorth Petherton Primary School, School Fields, North Petherton, Bridgwater, TA6 6LU
Received Not publishedCotford St Luke Primary School, Bethell Mead, Cotford St Luke, Taunton, Somerset, TA4 1HZ
Received Not publishedSouthwood Waste Management, Evercreech Junction, Evercreech, BA4 6LX
Received Not publishedRobert Blake Science College & Elmwood School, Hamp Avenue, BRIDGWATER, Somerset, TA6 6AW
Received Not publishedLeighton Quarry East Cranmore Shepton Mallet BA4 4RA
Received Not publishedKingston St Mary Primary School, Kingston St Mary, Taunton, Somerset, TA2 8JH
Received Not publishedSt Andrews Junior School, Dunstan Road, Burnham on Sea, Somerset, TA8 1ER
Received Not publishedLand between Showground Road/Marsh Lane and, Parrett Way, Colley Lane Industrial Estate, Bridgwater, Somerset
Received Not publishedReckleford Infants School & Children's Centre, Eastland Road, Yeovil, Somerset, BA21 4ET
Received Not publishedBlackford Hill Quarry, Quarry Hill, Blackford, Yeovil, BA22 7EA
Received Not publishedWorthy Farm, Pilton, Shelpton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 4BY
Received Not publishedHeathfield Community School, School Road, Monkton Heathfield, Taunton, Somerset, TA2 8PD
Received Not publishedCastle Hill Quarry, Chad's Hill, Cannington, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA5 2QF
Received Not publishedRedstart Primary School, Redstart Road, Chard, Somerset, TA20 1SD
Received Not publishedWellington Waste Skips Site, The Old Brickworks, Higher Poole, WELLINGTON, Somerset, TA21 9HW
Received Not publishedWalford Cross Depot Walford Cross Taunton TA2 8QP
Received Not publishedSouthwood Waste Management Facility, Southwood Common, Evercreech, SHEPTON MALLET, Somerset, BA4 6LX
Received Not publishedLand forming part of Westfield Farm, Keinton Mandeville, Somerton, Somerset, TA11 6DQ
Received Not publishedPhoenix Road, Colley Lane Industrial Estate, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA6 5LZ
Received Not publishedHeathfield Community School, School Road, Monkton Heathfield, Taunton, Somerset, TA2 8PD
Received Not publishedLand to the north of Wilderness Drove, Sharpham
Received Not publishedLand at Downslade Quarry, Downslade Lane, Upton, Long Sutton, Somerset, TA10 9NW
Received Not publishedLand (P83) adjoining, Westhay Heath, Westhay, Glastonbury, Somerset
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