South Gloucestershire Council has published the outcome of their most recent Call for Sites exercise, which seeks to identify land that could be considered by our new Local Plan for future growth and development.
The process will help us as we undertake our ongoing work to prepare a new Local Plan for South Gloucestershire, which will direct housing growth and identify areas where land can be allocated for business growth, as well as the transport and infrastructure, including green infrastructure, that will be needed to support new development.
All of the sites submitted have been processed and added to our website, which can be viewed on an interactive map. We have also included a FAQs sheet which gives further information about the Call for Sites and how we will use this information, which is available to view on our Call for Sites homepage here.
Under the Government’s planning rules, sites can be proposed by anyone, including the landowner or a prospective developer.
It is important to note that submission of land to the Call for Sites process and its display on our online map, does not automatically mean it will be taken forward as part of our new Local Plan. Nor does it mean planning permissions will be granted.
All sites submitted to the Call for Sites, will be assessed and considered against priorities for our new Local Plan and the council’s broader objectives for achieving net zero carbon by 2030. Any sites which might be suitable will be publicly consulted on. The next stage of the process will see each proposed site technically assessed using national planning guidance, which is called the Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) process. The HELAA process assesses whether each individual site would be potentially suitable for development. It does not decide which sites should be proposed for allocation through the Local Plan.
There will then be public consultation for the next stages of the new Local Plan on the sites which have passed through the HELAA process and could form part of our new plan.
Our new Local Plan will eventually contain a map showing the sites ‘allocated’ to meet the need for new homes and jobs over the next 15 years. Once adopted the new Local Plan will describe site ‘allocations’ to confirm the principle a site may be developed and what use or purpose would be acceptable. Allocated sites would then still need to obtain planning permission.
As part of the Call for Sites process, we have put five sites owned or part-owned by the council for consideration.
Two of the five sites put forward for assessment by the council include third party land. For a comprehensive review to be undertaken, these sites have been included with the council’s land. By proactively putting these sites forward the council will be able to influence what is done with the land, rather than have the market lead which could result in speculative development.
The sites where third-party land is being included are:
• Frampton End Farm, Frampton Cotterell,
• Land at Brereton Way, Warmley.
The additional three council owned sites that are also being submitted are:
• Leigh farms I & II, Pucklechurch,
• Land at Berrows Mead, Rangeworthy,
• Land at York Gardens, Winterbourne (submitted previously by an adjoining owner).
There have been no decisions yet on what each site could be used for, and each site has its own characteristics, which will have an impact on what may or may not be possible or appropriate. If any form of development does happen, there will be public, local Councillor and other stakeholder engagement and we will consider the potential benefits and our key objectives, which include:
• Making improvements to the whole area
• Improvements to green infrastructure and biodiversity net gain
• Contributing to our target of being Carbon neutral in line with our climate emergency action plan
• Improving post-covid-19 living and working environments
• Helping to meet local housing and employment needs.
Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Environment and Strategic Infrastructure, Councillor Steve Reade, said: “We are committed to plan-led development and we want to work with our communities to make plans for a sustainable and thriving future for South Gloucestershire. The Call For Sites process allows us to understand where there are opportunities to deliver.
“Through the Local Plan process we are continuing to engage with local people to help us understand what people think should be our priorities, in terms of where we build and do not build; how we build and how we ensure that new homes, businesses and infrastructure is made sustainable; and also, how we should protect our natural environment and respond to the Climate Emergency.”
Cabinet Member for Corporate Resources, Councillor Ben Burton said: “One of the key priorities set out in our Council Plan is to deliver the best value for money for residents and we are also committed to taking positive action to respond to the Climate Emergency and to become carbon neutral. By putting forward a number of our own sites for consideration as potential places for us to grow and provide the homes and business opportunities we need; and by working with local landowners and local people, we want to find ways to make our resources work for the benefit of our communities.”
