Block Management in Cheddar
A raised reservoir whose inundation outline reaches beyond the flood zones
We offer block and estate management in Cheddar for RMCs, RTM companies and freeholders, with service charge accounts, insurance and maintenance handled together. Cheddar Reservoir holds 6,137,000 cubic metres and its inundation area spreads slightly wider than the flood map for planning. Radon then swings from class 2 at the market cross to class 5 on the gorge-facing side of the village.
What We Would Put First for a Block in Cheddar
Check the Reservoir Inundation Outline
Cheddar Reservoir is a large raised reservoir under the Reservoirs Act 1975, and its inundation area spreads slightly wider than the flood map for planning. We would check a block against that outline, not the flood zones alone, and reflect it in insurance placement.
InsuranceMeasure Radon by Address
Six of the ten squares over the village are class 5 and one class 4, on the northern and eastern gorge-facing side, while the market cross is class 2. We would recommend radon measurement in communal areas for blocks on the elevated side.
ComplianceSurvey Converted Buildings Closely
At 9.4 per cent, a notable share of Cheddar's flats are in other converted buildings, meaning former schools, chapels and warehouses. We would schedule surveys that establish how services and compartments were divided in the conversion.
InspectionsAllow Time for Ecology and Landscape
Four sites of special scientific interest and two special areas of conservation touch the built-up village, and 14.6 per cent of it lies in the Mendip Hills National Landscape. We would build survey time into Section 20 programmes for larger external works.
Major works and Section 20Managing a Block in Cheddar at a Glance
- Local authority
- Somerset Council
- Authority type
- Unitary
- Building control
- Somerset Building Control, the council's own service covering the four former district areas
- County
- Somerset
- Fire and rescue service
- Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
- Water and sewerage
- Wessex Water
- From our Plymouth office
- About 86 miles in a straight line
- Setting
- Inland
What It Costs to Move a Block in Cheddar to Us
Management is a fixed annual fee, quoted for the building and agreed before we start. We take no commission and no third-party incentives, so the fee is the whole of what we earn from the building. Taking a block on carries a one-off start-up fee, set by size:
| Block size | Fee |
|---|---|
| Start-up fee, up to 10 units | £420.00 |
| Start-up fee, up to 25 units | £540.00 |
| Start-up fee, 50 units and above | £660.00 |
Taken from our published Additional Services price list, PBM Form #01-27 rev.6, effective 23 June 2025. All fees quoted are inclusive of VAT. See the full price list and how a handover works.
The Reservoir Outline Reaches Beyond Cheddar's Flood Zones
Fluvial on the Cheddar Yeo, with groundwater and reservoir dimensions as well. Only 6.0 per cent of the built-up area is in Flood Zone 3 and 12.1 per cent in Flood Zone 2. There is no Cheddar-specific flood warning area in the Environment Agency's records; the only area naming the village is the North Somerset rivers alert, which covers 9.7 per cent of it. The strategic flood risk assessment describes the Yeo rising north east of the village and running down the gorge and through it. Properties either side of the channel are in Flood Zone 3a, but the floodplain is relatively narrow against the wider settlement, most of which is Flood Zone 1. Groundwater is a named local mechanism, with springs emerging at the foot of the permeable slopes. The reservoir is the one to plan around. Cheddar Reservoir is a large raised reservoir under the Reservoirs Act 1975, 14 metres at its maximum height and holding 6,137,000 cubic metres. The assessment warns that its inundation area spreads slightly wider than the Environment Agency flood map for planning, so a site can be outside the flood zones and still inside the inundation outline. The village's own historic benchmark is the July 1968 storm, when the gorge became a torrent of water, mud and rock, left a nine metre hole in the road and put 35 people out of their homes. A block should be checked against the inundation outline as well as the flood zones before insurance is placed.
Former Schools and Chapels Hold a Share of the Flats
The village itself held 2,553 households at the 2021 Census with 352 in flats, 13.8 per cent. Of these, 259 were in purpose-built blocks, 41 in a converted or shared house, 33 in another converted building and 19 over commercial premises. Flats in other converted buildings make up 9.4 per cent of the total, which means former schools, chapels and warehouses rather than former houses. The published Cheddar ward figure of 530 flats among 4,061 households is not a village figure, as only about 63 per cent of the ward's households are actually in Cheddar. In a converted school or chapel, a survey should establish how services and compartments were divided before major works are planned.
Five Scheduled Monuments Reach into the Built-Up Village
One conservation area, designated 17 April 1991. The council states in the national dataset that there is no appraisal document. The district-wide Sedgemoor audit of November 1993 does devote three pages to it and identifies three components. These are the village core focused on the market cross and parish church, part of Lower North Street where traditional local limestone construction is particularly evident, and the ancient Kings of Wessex palace site. No modern appraisal has been produced since. The area covers 0.145 square kilometres, 5.8 per cent of the built-up village. With no modern appraisal, external works to a block inside it are best discussed with Somerset Council before a specification is fixed.
The made neighbourhood plan states that there are 34 listed buildings within Cheddar, a 2018 figure. Historic England's current data gives 35 in the built-up area and 36 in the parish, of which 18 are inside the conservation area. One is Grade I, the Church of St Andrew, and two are Grade II*, the Market Cross and Church Farm House, all three listed on 9 February 1961. Scheduling is a further constraint. Five scheduled monuments reach into the built-up village, including Gough's Cave, Gough's Old Cave, Saye's Hole, the Roman settlement with the Anglo-Saxon and Norman royal palace and St Columbanus' Chapel, and the Market Cross. The Market Cross is both scheduled and listed at Grade II*. Works within a scheduled monument's boundary need scheduled monument consent, which is separate from planning permission.
Gorge Side or Moor Side Moves Radon Three Bands
The village is split. The market cross is class 2, 1 to 3 per cent of homes at or above the action level. But of the ten one-kilometre squares over the built-up area, six are class 5 at 10 to 30 per cent and one is class 4 at 5 to 10 per cent. The elevated squares are the northern and eastern gorge-facing limestone side; the lower ones are the southern end toward the moors. Which end of the village a block sits in moves the band by three steps, so the address matters more than the village name when deciding on radon measurement.
Landscape and Ecology Shape Cheddar Schemes More Than Heritage
Decided under the Sedgemoor Local Plan 2011 to 2032, adopted 20 February 2019. The Cheddar Neighbourhood Plan 2011 to 2027 was made in October 2018. There is no Article 4 direction. The designation that most shapes development here is landscape rather than heritage. 14.6 per cent of the built-up area, including part of the conservation area, lies inside the Mendip Hills National Landscape, and 57.2 per cent of the parish does. Four sites of special scientific interest and two special areas of conservation also touch the built-up village. Ecology surveys therefore arrive earlier in a project here than they would in a comparable town on the levels, and Section 20 programmes for larger external works need time built in for them.
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Cheddar Questions
Our Block Is Outside the Flood Zones. Can the Reservoir Still Affect It?
Potentially, yes. The strategic flood risk assessment warns that Cheddar Reservoir's inundation area spreads slightly wider than the Environment Agency flood map for planning, so a site can be outside the flood zones and still inside the inundation outline. The reservoir is 14 metres at its maximum height and holds 6,137,000 cubic metres.
Does Radon Vary Across Cheddar?
Sharply. The market cross is class 2, 1 to 3 per cent of homes at or above the action level. But six of the ten squares over the built-up area are class 5 at 10 to 30 per cent and one is class 4. The elevated squares are on the northern and eastern gorge-facing side; the lower ones are toward the moors.
Is There a Conservation Area Appraisal for Cheddar?
No modern one. The single conservation area was designated on 17 April 1991, and the council states that there is no appraisal document. The Sedgemoor audit of November 1993 gives it three pages, identifying the village core around the market cross and parish church, part of Lower North Street, and the Kings of Wessex palace site.
Nearby Areas
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