Block Management in Somerset
One council since April 2023, still running four district local plans.
As managing agent, our block, estate and leasehold management reaches RMCs, RTM companies and freeholders across Somerset, 74 miles from our Plymouth head office. Since 1 April 2023 Somerset Council has been the sole principal authority, yet four district local plans stay in force until the Somerset Local Plan for 2025 to 2045 is adopted. Only 9.3 per cent of households live in a purpose-built block.
Proposals are for developments of 50 or more units. Smaller building? Talk to our team.
Somerset Council Since 2023, Four District Plans Still Live
- Local authority
- Somerset Council
- Authority type
- Unitary
- Building control
- Somerset Building Control, the council's own service covering the four former district areas
- Fire and rescue service
- Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
- Water and sewerage
- Wessex Water
- Setting
- Coastal
Page last updated . Sources: ONS Census 2021, accommodation type (TS044); Environment Agency long term flood risk; Environment Agency flood map for planning; Historic England, National Heritage List for England; UKHSA UK radon map.
Which Legacy Plan Applies, Before Anything Else
Check Which Legacy Plan Applies
Four district local plans remain in force until the Somerset Local Plan for 2025 to 2045 is adopted. Before external works we would confirm which legacy plan and which conservation area mapping system covers the block, then obtain consents.
ConsentsGive Six Weeks' Notice for Tree Work
Six weeks' notice to the council comes before tree work in a Somerset conservation area unless an exception applies, and unlawful works are an offence. We would build that notice into the grounds programme rather than treat tree work as a same-week contractor instruction.
Maintenance and repairsScreen Small Blocks for HMO Licensing
A purpose-built flat let to five or more people forming two or more households needs an HMO licence if the building has fewer than three flats, and failure exposes the landlord to a civil penalty of up to £40,000. When handling subletting consents we would check occupation against that test.
Leasehold managementConfirm Who Holds the Building Control File
Somerset Building Control has been absorbing reversions from the collapse of a private approved inspector. For a block with works in progress at handover we would confirm who now holds the building control file and keep the compliance record complete.
ComplianceOne Council, but Four District Local Plans in Force
Somerset has already been through what Devon and Gloucestershire are heading into. On 1 April 2023 Somerset Council became the sole principal authority for the county, replacing the county council and four districts. Three years on, four separate district local plans are still in force. They will stay in force until the Somerset Local Plan for 2025 to 2045 is adopted. In practice a block deals with one council but four rulebooks, so the right legacy plan has to be identified before consents are sought.
Purpose-Built Blocks House 9.3 Per Cent of Somerset
At the 2021 Census 23,185 of Somerset's 250,123 households, 9.3 per cent, were in a purpose-built block, against 17.1 per cent for England. A further 1.8 per cent were in a converted or shared house including bedsits, half the England rate. Blocks here are a minority stock concentrated in the towns. Even a small block carries the full set of compliance duties, from fire risk assessment to buildings insurance.
A Severn Estuary Coast with the Second Largest Tidal Range
Somerset's coast faces the Severn Estuary, which has the second largest tidal range in the world after the Bay of Fundy. The Environment Agency runs a single flood alert area along it, from Minehead through Burnham-on-Sea to Kingston Seymour. Blocks on this coast need external metalwork and fixings inspected more often, and insurers told of the tidal exposure.
The Levels and Moors Are a National Flood Risk Area
The Somerset Levels and Moors are a nationally significant flood risk area. The winter 2013 to 2014 floods cost the county up to £147.5 million and produced a twenty year action plan. They also led, in January 2015, to the Somerset Rivers Authority. It is a partnership of the council, two internal drainage boards, the Environment Agency, Natural England, the regional flood committee and Wessex Water. Five main catchments drain the county: the Parrett, the Tone, the Axe and Brue, the Somerset Frome and the West Somerset streams. Flood exposure differs by catchment, so it should be checked for each block's own location when insurance is placed.
Four Legacy Systems for Conservation Area Maps
Somerset Council delivers conservation area maps and appraisals through four separate legacy systems inherited from the former districts, and routes an enquirer to a different mapping tool depending on where the building is. For a block, the right legacy system has to be identified first, so that consents for external works are checked against the correct appraisal.
Radon Varies Sharply Within Somerset, So Check Locally
Somerset Council states that some of the largest radon emissions in the country originate in the South West geology and that parts of Somerset are at risk of levels requiring action. The action level for a home is 200 becquerels per cubic metre. Potential varies sharply within the county, so each block should be checked at its own address and measured where advised.
Yeovil Holds Somerset's Only HMO Article 4 Direction
Somerset Council publishes one register of Article 4 directions inherited from the four former districts, running from 1959 onwards. Exactly one of them concerns houses in multiple occupation, in Yeovil, confirmed in 2021. Everywhere else in the county, HMO control is mandatory licensing under the Housing Act 2004 alone.
Somerset Council Is Not the Whole of Somerset
- North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset are not part of Somerset Council. They were constituted as separate unitary authorities out of Avon in 1996 and have their own planning, building control and fire service.
- Somerset council tax bills carry a Somerset Rivers Authority charge, which raised £3.133 million in 2025 to 2026 and has been held at its original level since the precept power passed to the new council in April 2023.
- Building control is one in-house service for the whole county, which the council describes as the largest local authority partnership in the South West, and it is currently absorbing reversions from the collapse of a private approved inspector.
What the Tribunal Decided on Somerset Blocks
| Development | Issue | Decided |
|---|---|---|
| Doveton House, 53 Long Street, Williton | Right to manage | 27 July 2026 |
| The Old Courthouse, Waterloo Road, Frome | Appointment of a manager | 31 March 2025 |
Fixed Fees for a Block on the Levels or the Coast
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 changing your managing agent.
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Somerset Towns We Cover, and the Local Fact That Matters in Each
| Town | Council | What sets it apart |
|---|---|---|
| Taunton | Somerset Council | Deteriorating 1960s and 1970s river walls on the Tone, with replacement estimated at upwards of £50 million. |
| Bridgwater | Somerset Council | Much of the town below tide level, and ten Grade I houses on Castle Street. |
| Yeovil | Somerset Council | Somerset's only HMO Article 4 direction, in a town built from scarce Yeovil Stone. |
| Weston-super-Mare | North Somerset Council | A third of households in Weston Central and Hillside live in converted or shared houses. |
| Burnham-on-Sea | Somerset Council | Seafront blocks face marine air, and tidal Flood Zone 3 takes in 79.2 per cent. |
| Chard | Somerset Council | A bowl-shaped town where surface water floods blocks and radon reaches class 5. |
| Cheddar | Somerset Council | A raised reservoir whose inundation outline reaches beyond the flood zones. |
| Clevedon | North Somerset Council | In Clevedon, five Article 4 directions overlap, so window works start with the council. |
| Frome | Somerset Council | River flooding on named streets, surface water wider, and radon raised on the north side. |
| Glastonbury | Somerset Council | Two Article 4 directions name flats: front repainting and roof solar on named streets need permission. |
| Highbridge | Somerset Council | All of Highbridge lies in tidal Flood Zone 3a, with no conservation area to navigate. |
| Ilminster | Somerset Council | The Isle floods the west and hill runoff the east, so cover follows the side of town. |
| Langport | Somerset Council | Westover's pumps stop when the Parrett reaches 8.05 metres, and nearby roads eventually become impassable. |
| Minehead | Somerset Council | Nearly a third of households in flats, and only 58 per cent purpose-built. |
| Nailsea | North Somerset Council | Purpose-built post-war flats, three address-specific Article 4 directions and a surface water route through town. |
| Portishead | North Somerset Council | Modern marina blocks behind a tidal estuary frontage split by shoreline policy. |
| Shepton Mallet | Somerset Council | No ground below radon class 4, and 12 per cent of town at class 6. |
| Somerton | Somerset Council | A conservation area since 1970 with no appraisal, and radon reaching class 5. |
| Street | Somerset Council | Class 5 radon over 91 per cent of the town, and no lowest-band ground. |
| Wellington | Somerset Council | A 1977 painting control covers unpainted brick or stone, and the conservation area is at risk. |
| Wells | Somerset Council | Window consent depends on the street, under three separate Article 4 directions. |
| Wincanton | Somerset Council | Two Article 4 directions, and River Cale warnings on named streets. |
Somerset Questions on Plans, Flooding and HMOs
Is North Somerset Part of Somerset Council?
No. North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset were constituted as separate unitary authorities out of Avon in 1996 and have their own planning and building control. Somerset Council became the sole principal authority on 1 April 2023, replacing the county council and four districts.
What Is the Somerset Rivers Authority Charge on Our Council Tax?
Somerset council tax bills carry a Somerset Rivers Authority charge, which raised £3.133 million in 2025 to 2026. It has been held at its original level since the precept power passed to the new council in April 2023. The authority was formed in January 2015 after the winter 2013 to 2014 floods.
Where in Somerset Is There an HMO Article 4 Direction?
Only in Yeovil, confirmed in 2021. Somerset Council publishes one register of Article 4 directions inherited from the four former districts, running from 1959 onwards, and exactly one concerns houses in multiple occupation. Everywhere else in the county, HMO control is mandatory licensing under the Housing Act 2004 alone.
Neighbouring Counties and Cities
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