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Article 4 Direction

Article 4 Direction

Codden Hill, Bishop’s Tawton, North Devon

On 7 December 2022, Devon County Council’s Development Management Committee agreed to make a non-immediate Article 4 Direction to remove permitted development rights at Codden Hill. The report considered by the Development Management Committee, and the minutes of the meeting, can be found here.

On 6 December 2023, Devon County Council’s Development Management Committee agreed to confirm this non-immediate Article 4 Direction to remove permitted development rights at Codden Hill. The report was considered by the Development Management Committee, and the minutes of the meeting, can be found here.

The Direction withdraws the permitted development rights under Class C – mineral working for agricultural purposes of Part 6 – Agricultural and Forestry of Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) at Codden Hill, Bishop’s Tawton, Barnstaple.

The effect of the Direction is that development set out by Class C – mineral working for agricultural purposes cannot be undertaken without a planning application being submitted to Devon County Council for consideration and planning permission being granted.

The Article 4 Direction at Codden Hill is proposed to come into force on 14 January 2024.

Background Documents

What is an Article 4 Direction?

Permitted development rights allow certain types of development to commence without the need to submit a planning application. An Article 4 Direction removes the permitted development rights within a specified area, meaning that a planning application will be required.

What are permitted development rights?

Permitted development rights allow certain types of development to commence without the need to submit a planning application. Permitted development rights are set out in the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) [GPDO].

Further information about planning permission and permitted development rights can be found on the Planning Portal.

What is happening?

We have removed the permitted development rights under Class C – mineral working for agricultural purposes of Part 6 – Agricultural and Forestry of Schedule 2 of the GPDO at Codden Hill, Bishop’s Tawton, Barnstaple through an Article 4 Direction.

The effect of the direction is that development set out by Class C (mineral working for agricultural purposes) cannot be undertaken without a planning application being submitted to Devon County Council for consideration and planning permission being granted.

The Article 4 Direction at Codden Hill comes into force on 14 January 2024. This was confirmed by the Development Management Committee on 6 December 2023 after considering the representations received.

Why protect Codden Hill?

Devon County Council considers that Codden Hill is a distinct feature of the North Devon landscape that is highly visible with protected features, such as Codden Beacon Scheduled Monument, located centrally on Codden Hill. It also has valuable habitats and offers recreational routes for the public to enjoy and we want to protect this.

There are also a number of residents in close proximity to Codden Hill, and at present, we have no control to mitigate the impacts of mineral extraction for these residents, including noise, dust, and highway movements.

We consider that mineral working for agricultural purposes in the area has already caused a degree of harm to the local environment and we want to ensure that we can manage any future mineral extraction by requiring a planning application to be submitted.

How does this affect you?

From 14 January 2024, planning applications will be required for any mineral working on Codden Hill. This could affect people in different ways:

  • If you own or control the land in the Article 4 Direction boundary, you will no longer be able to extract minerals for agricultural purposes without submitting a planning application to Devon County Council for consideration and planning permission being granted;
  • If you live nearby or have an interest in Codden Hill, you may be consulted on any future planning applications that are received by Devon County Council

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