If you own a site in the former Mendip area which is potentially suitable and available for housing development before 2029, then get in contact with Salmon Planning Company – we would be pleased to promote your site to the Council. The deadline for completing a submission is Monday 4th September 2023, so don’t leave it too late!
A severe shortage of land for development at the north-eastern edge of Somerset in the area formerly served by Mendip District Council is seriously testing Somerset's Planning Policy Team.
Following a Judicial Review of the Mendip Local Plan Part II (December 2022), a High Court Judge ruled in favour of Norton St Philip Parish Council that the Planning Inspectorate had not followed the proper planning processes relating to five housing sites in the Mendip area. It was ruled that these sites, which would have delivered 505 dwellings, should be removed from the adopted Local Plan following a legal error in how the sites were allocated. As a result, Somerset Council is now faced with reviewing and re-assessing the availability of potential housing sites throughout the former Mendip area to make up the 505 home shortfall.
At a meeting in Taunton on 19 July 2023, Somerset Council officials called for a commitment from the Council to rectify this acute land shortage to avoid existing planning policies being rendered obsolete and stressed that a failure to uphold the Judge's 'directions' to rectify the land shortage could leave the Council in danger of being found 'in contempt of court'. Without swift action, the risk of the Mendip Local Plan Part II being quashed had become very real.
A great opportunity now for landowners in the former Mendip District Council area
Somerset Council has been forced to take decisive action, issuing a ‘call for sites’ in the designated area. This presents a great opportunity now for landowners in the former Mendip area to promote their sites for housing development through the Local Plan process.
I'm a landowner in East Somerset - what action do I need to take?
The Somerset Council is actively inviting landowners to submit their land for consideration. Any sites that can accommodate a minimum of five dwellings and are considered suitable for housing allocation by the Somerset Council, will be subject to consultation and re-submission to the Planning Inspectorate for examination.
And remember, if you would also like us to review the prospects for gaining planning permission now and learn about the longer-term Local Plan process, we would be pleased to carry out a preliminary appraisal. -
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