Land in North Somerset

Housing and the local plan

In the government’s Housing Delivery Test 2025, North Somerset built 64% of the homes it needed over three years: presumption in favour.

The council delivered under 75% of the homes it needed, so national policy's presumption in favour of sustainable development (the "tilted balance") applies to housing applications: permission should be granted unless the harm would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, or protective policies such as Green Belt, National Landscapes or flood risk give a clear reason to refuse.

Its adopted local plan is the North Somerset Core Strategy (Consolidated), adopted January 2017 (9 years ago; plans are meant to be reviewed at least every five years).

A new plan, the North Somerset Local Plan 2040, is at final consultation (Regulation 19).

From MHCLG’s Housing Delivery Test and the Planning Data platform’s local plan records, which some councils haven’t kept up to date. Whether the tilted balance applies to a scheme also depends on the council’s five-year land supply and the site itself: get planning advice.

Planning constraints

Of the 7,516 outlines of an acre or more, 2,760 (37%) are mostly in Green Belt. 2,687 (36%) are partly in flood zone 3, the highest risk.

From the government’s Planning Data platform. Check any site with Planning check.

Farmland quality

23% of the graded farmland outlines of an acre or more are grade 1 or 2, the best and most versatile land.

• Grade 1644
• Grade 2920
• Grade 34,316
• Grade 4876
• Grade 527
• Non-agricultural144
• Urban501

Natural England’s provisional grades at the centre of each outline. A broad-scale map, so a field survey is needed for any one site.

Electricity network

1,814 outlines of an acre or more are within 1 km of a primary or grid substation.

The best 2 km square for a data centre scores 100 out of 100, and 20 squares score 70 or more. Data centre site search →