North Devon Council has rejected an application for flats above shops in Barnstaple because there might be a flood risk after 2105.
The council said occupiers of the proposed flats could be cut off for more than six hours in the event of flooding, and that an 84-year lifespan for a property was unacceptable.
However, the Environment Agency has given the flats the go-ahead.
In 2021, the government put out guidance telling councils to “take into account all sources of flood risk, and the current and future impacts of climate change” over the next century.
The owner of the Oak House on the high street is now awaiting a response from the Department for Levelling Up, after local MP Selaine Saxby took the case to secretary of state Michael Gove.
