Weston-super-Mare submitted 537 planning applications to North Somerset in 2025. Demolition accounts for nearly 1 in 8.
North Somerset received 537 planning applications from the Weston-super-Mare area in 2025, down from 609 in 2024. Of the 1,013 applications decided across 2024-2025, 88.7% were approved, broadly in line with the 87.6% national rate. The clearest divergence is demolition: at 12.9% of the application mix it runs 1.4 times the national share of 9.1%. Retrospective applications, submitted after the work was done, also run above the national rate at 4.6% versus 3.7%.
The year in one line
Weston-super-Mare's approval rate matches the national picture, but the application mix is distinctive: demolition and retrospective work each run above the national norm, pointing to a town where clearing and rebuilding is a common path.
What Weston-super-Mare Is Building
Extensions lead, but demolition is the standout category.
Home extensions were the most common project type submitted to North Somerset in 2025, at 23.5% of all applications, somewhat below the national norm of 29.1%. Demolition is the clearest departure from the national picture: at 12.9% of the application mix it runs 1.4 times the national share of 9.1%, accounting for 148 applications across 2024-2025. Retrospective applications, submitted after the work was already done, reached 4.6%, above the national rate of 3.7%.
Applications submitted to North Somerset in 2025 (counts from pooled 2024-2025 for stability), by project type.
Demolition leads the divergence
At 12.9% of the application mix, demolition runs 1.4 times the national share of 9.1%. Retrospective applications also sit above the norm, at 4.6% versus 3.7% nationally.
The council verdict
An approval rate broadly in line with the national picture.
Of the 1,013 applications decided across 2024-2025, North Somerset approved 88.7% and refused 11.3%, a refusal rate below the national 12.4%, so about 1 in 9 applications was turned down. The approval rate is close to the national norm of 87.6%.
About 1 in 9 Weston-super-Mare applications was turned down.
of applications were refused, against a national refusal rate of 12.4%. About 1 in 9 projects was turned down, broadly in line with the national picture.
Weston-super-Mare vs The National Norm
Demolition and retrospective work both run above the national rate.
Set Weston-super-Mare's application mix against the national average and the clearest gap is demolition: 12.9% here against 9.1% nationally, 1.4 times the norm. Retrospective applications, submitted after work is already done, also run above average at 4.6% versus 3.7%. Home extensions, the top category everywhere, sit below the national share at 23.5% against 29.1%.
Demolition applications in Weston-super-Mare run at 1.4 times the national share, the town's clearest divergence from the national planning mix.
Each bar is Weston-super-Mare's share of applications; the marker is the national share. Demolition is the town's clearest divergence from the norm.
Meanwhile, the market
Prices climbed alongside the building work.
Alongside the building work, Weston-super-Mare homes changed hands at a pace, with sale prices up sharply on the year before.
Weston-super-Mare's planning data shows a broadly permissive council, approving 88.7% of decided applications, close to the national norm. What stands out is the mix: demolition accounts for nearly 1 in 8 applications, at 1.4 times the national share, and retrospective applications also run above average. For buyers and developers here, permission is generally achievable, but the application mix tells a story of clearing and rebuilding rather than extending what is already there.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to North Somerset in 2025 (the latest full year), classified from each application's published description. Shares and rates are computed over the pooled 2024-2025 window for stability.
Decision Rates
Refusal rate is refusals as a share of approvals plus refusals. The national benchmarks are computed the same way across all decided applications in England and Wales.
Sales Data
HM Land Registry Price Paid Data for the Weston-super-Mare post town, the latest full year's completions, with growth measured against the previous year.
The Real Applications
Open the planning applications behind the numbers.
These are real applications submitted in the Weston-super-Mare area, from the demolition and retrospective work that sits above the national norm to extensions, HMO conversions and change-of-use cases. Open any one to see its full record.
High Croft Roman Road, Bleadon BS24 0AB
A retrospective application for earthworks to recontour the land, the build-first-ask-later pattern that runs above the national rate in Weston-super-Mare, was approved.
See this property's full recordRosewood Hillcote BS24 9JS
A raised rear terrace built on stone retaining walls was regularised after the fact, with screen fencing also proposed, and the council granted it.
See this property's full record12 Marindin Drive BS22 7UT
Permission was granted to demolish an existing conservatory and build a wraparound side and rear extension with first-floor additions, combining the town's two most divergent categories.
See this property's full record11 Whitecross Road BS23 1EP
A six-bed shared house was approved for change of use to a larger seven-bed HMO, along with a forecourt refuse and recycling store.
See this property's full recordFlat 3 9 Ellenborough Crescent BS23 1XL
A certificate of lawfulness was issued for the repair of two original sash windows on a Grade II listed building.
See this property's full record33 Oxford Square, Locking BS24 7DR
A two-storey side and rear extension with a part single-storey rear element, the town's most common project type, was approved.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in Weston-super-Mare?
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