Planning permission in North Somerset
Most single-storey rear extensions within the national permitted development limits don't need planning permission in North Somerset. The rules are stricter in its 39 conservation areas, where side extensions, two-storey extensions and loft dormers need permission. Check your address to see which rules apply.
North Somerset at a glance
- Conservation areas
- 39
- Article 4 areas
- 38
- Protected landscapes
- Mendip Hills
- Planning decisions
- North Somerset Council
How many conservation areas are there in North Somerset?
North Somerset has 39 conservation areas. In a conservation area, permitted development rights are reduced: side extensions, two-storey extensions, loft dormers and cladding all need planning permission, and many councils add Article 4 directions on top.
- Backwell Church Town
- Backwell Farleigh
- Backwell West Town
- Banwell
- Barrow Gurney
- Beach Lawns
- Birnbeck
- Blagdon
- Boulevard/Montpelier
- Chelvey
- Christon
- Churchill
- Clevedon
- Clevedon Triangle
- Congresbury
- Ellenborough Crescent
- Felton: Upper Town
- Hutton
- Leighwoods
- Long Ashton
- Long Ashton Westleaze & Wyke and Yanley
- Lower Langford
- Loxton
- Melrose/Grove Park
- Melrose/Grove Park (Extension)
- Nailsea Kingshill
- Portishead Court Farm Environs
- Portishead East Wood
- Portishead West Hill & Welly Bottom
- Portishead Woodhill Road
- Uphill
- Uphill North
- Walton-in-Gordano
- Weston-in-Gordano
- Weston-super-Mare
- Worle Village
- Wrington
- Wrington (Extension)
- Yatton
Read more: extensions, loft dormers, garden rooms and solar panels in a conservation area.
Does North Somerset have Article 4 directions?
North Somerset has published 38 Article 4 areas. Inside them, some permitted development rights are removed, so work that would normally be allowed needs planning permission.
38 of the published areas don't say which rights they remove. Our checker tells people at those addresses to check with the council.
Directions listed by North Somerset:
- 11-15 Mayfair Avenue, Nailsea (1)
- Agricultural land at Weston-in-Gordano
- Banwell Conservation Area (1)
- Battery Lane, Portishead (1)
- Clevedon (Triangle) Conservation Area (1)
- Clevedon (Triangle) Conservation Area (2)
- Clevedon Conservation Area (1)
- Clevedon Conservation Area (2)
- Clevedon Conservation Area (3)
- Gordano Valley (1)
- Great Weston Conservation Area, Weston-super-Mare
- Land adjoining the A.38 at Winscombe
- Land adjoining the Bristol - Clevedon Class II County Road (B.3128)
- Land adjoining the Bristol - Weston-super-Mare County road A.370 at Cleeve
- Land at Abbots Leigh (1)
- Land at Abbots Leigh (2)
- Land at Backwell
- Land at Blackmoor Road, Abbots Leigh
- Land at Churchmead Estate, Nailsea
- Land at Dundry Down, Dundry
- Land at Easton-in-Gordano (1)
- Land at Easton-in-Gordano (2)
- Land at Elm Farm, Nailsea
- Land at Lyefield Road, Worle, Weston-super-Mare (1)
- Land at Rose Cottage, Weston-in-Gordano
- Land at Smallway, Congresbury (1)
- Land at the Junction of Beach Road and Richmond Street, Weston-super-Mare
- Land at the Seafront, Weston-super-Mare
- Land at Uphill, Weston-super-Mare
- Land at Willow Farm, Barton Road, Winscombe
- Land at Winford
- Land at Woodspring Priory, Kewstoke
- Land off Beach Road, Sand Bay, Weston-super-Mare
- Leigh Court (1)
- Weston-super-Mare (Birnbeck) Conservation area (1)
- Weston-super-Mare (Melrose/Grove Park) Conservation area (1)
- Winscombe Hill, Winscombe
- Wrington Conservation Area (Article 4 and 30) (1)
What is an Article 4 direction?
Is any of North Somerset in a national park, National Landscape or green belt?
- National Landscape (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in or bordering North Somerset: Mendip Hills.
- There is green belt in or bordering North Somerset. Householder permitted development rights apply as normal in the green belt, but if you need planning permission, green belt policy limits how much a home can be enlarged.
National parks and National Landscapes restrict permitted development in similar ways to conservation areas. Read more: extensions, loft dormers and garden rooms.
Listed buildings and protected trees in North Somerset
Listed buildings everywhere in England are recorded by Historic England, and the checker looks for them at every address. North Somerset also publishes 1,084 listed building outlines, which show exactly which building is listed.
North Somerset publishes its tree preservation orders (5,660 areas and individual trees), so we can flag protected trees near an address.
What planning data does North Somerset publish?
| Data | Status | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation area boundaries | Published | 39 |
| Article 4 direction boundaries | Published | 38 |
| Listed building outlines | Published | 1,084 |
| Tree preservation order areas | Published | 1,493 |
| Protected trees | Published | 4,167 |
Planning work on a home in North Somerset? Put a pin on your house and we'll check it against all of this.
Start a checkOther councils in South West
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
- Bristol
- Cheltenham
- Cornwall
- Cotswold
- Dorset
- East Devon
- Exeter
- Forest of Dean
- Gloucester
- Isles of Scilly
- Mid Devon
- North Devon
- Plymouth
- Somerset
- South Gloucestershire
- South Hams
- Stroud
- Swindon
- Teignbridge
- Tewkesbury
- Torbay
- Torridge
- West Devon
- Wiltshire
Data from planning.data.gov.uk, published by North Somerset Council and national bodies under the Open Government Licence, last updated here on 31 October 2026. North Somerset Council website.