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Consultation on our draft Local Plan has now opened and you have until 5pm on Friday 29 April to have your say.
The Local Plan Preferred Options document identifies where development can and can’t take place in North Somerset.
It will guide investment and funding for new housing, jobs, transport and community facilities until 2038.
The government has said we must provide 20,085 homes in North Somerset by 2038 – an extremely challenging target when physical and environmental restraints are taken into account, such as flood zones and the green belt.
We want to be open about the issues affecting us and the decisions we need to take, so this consultation is your chance to say where this development should be.
The draft plan also shows our commitment to tackling climate change and environmental issues, through the location and form of development, promoting renewable energy, minimising car use, encouraging green infrastructure and biodiversity, avoiding sensitive areas such as areas at flood risk and minimising waste.
It follows two previous public consultations in 2020, which received more than 4,500 responses.
Responses received from this consultation will help shape the next version of the local plan, which will become the document we propose to submit for examination to the Planning Inspectorate.
If you’d like to speak to an officer in person, some drop-in sessions are taking place around the area:
- Thursday 24 March, from 3 to 7pm, Churchill Methodist Church Hall
- Tuesday 29 March, from 3 to 7pm, St James Church Centre, Winscombe
- Friday 1 April, from 3 to 7pm, Tithe Barn, Nailsea
- Thursday 7 April from 3 to 7pm, Portishead Library.
Two evening question and answer sessions led by local councillors are also being held. Places are limited at each venue so arrive early:
- Tuesday 22 March, from 7.30 to 9pm, Backwell Village Hall
- Thursday 31 March, from 7 to 9pm, Long Ashton Community Centre.