Potential housing sites put forward by landowners and developers have been listed in a document published by North Somerset Council.

However, the inclusion of a site in the document does not mean it is endorsed by North Somerset Council or that it will be developed.

The council are required by government to carry out this exercise as part of the Local Plan 2036 Issues and Options consultation launched at the beginning of the month, which includes a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) identifying potential housing sites which could be considered in the future.

The North Somerset SHLAA includes housing sites put forward by landowners and developers as part of a ‘call for sites’ exercise. It comprises a wide range of sites where owners would like to develop if they had the opportunity.

The council has already carried out a first stage of assessment and ruled out sites contrary to national designations such as Green Belt and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and other key constraints.

This has left a range of sites to be assessed in more detail. These are identified in the document as being ‘likely’, ‘less likely’ or ‘unlikely’ to have potential for further consideration.

However, even the sites identified as ‘likely’ to have potential will require further detailed assessment and may, as a result, not be taken forward in the local plan.

The housing challenge facing North Somerset is to deliver around 25,000 dwellings by 2036. Once sites such as those with existing planning permissions, existing local plan allocations and the new developments proposed in the Joint Spatial Plan are considered, additional capacity still needs to be found for around 2,800 new homes.

The North Somerset SHLAA 2018 can be found on the council’s website at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/localplan2036.