We are launching a Call for Sites as part of developing our new Local Plan, which will guide how and where new housing growth, employment land and community facilities are identified for the future.
The Call for Sites will be open until 20 October 2020 and is an opportunity for promoters of housing, employment, or community developments to put their ideas forward for assessment of their suitability to help meet South Gloucestershire’s future needs.
Information about the process, how to submit a site for consideration, how sites identified will be assessed and potentially form part of the new South Gloucestershire Local Plan is available on our website.
The process launching today is just one element of forming the new Local Plan. A full public consultation will take place later this year. This will focus on the issues and priorities for the plan and some initial proposals for how we can shape and guide development to meet the need for homes, jobs and infrastructure and plan to maintain and improve our environment and our quality of life.
Local Authorities are required to have a Local Plan in place and South Gloucestershire’s existing Plan is due for an update. Since the last Plan was adopted, and since the last Call for Sites process was conducted in 2018, a number of significant changes have taken place that are likely to influence the content of our next plan, including the policies that will guide development. For example, we have signed a declaration on the Climate Emergency and adopted an action plan that will help us meet our aims to reduce carbon emissions and protect our natural environment.
The steps required to develop a Local Plan are directed by national law, which the final plan will need to adhere to, before ultimately being approved by Government, and adopted by the Council. We are fully committed to open and meaningful consultation with all our communities throughout these processes. This is because we want our plans for the future to reflect a collective understanding of what we need to do to accommodate a growing population and to meet our need for homes, jobs and other infrastructure, while we protect and enhance our environment and quality of life.
Sites that have previously been submitted for consideration are available to view on a map on the Council website. It is important to note that just because a site has been submitted, that does not mean that the Council or the local community will agree with the site’s promoter, that the idea suits our needs. The Call for Sites process is instead a way of understanding the sites and ideas that are out there and that could help us meet our needs, as we prepare our Local Plan.
Cabinet Member for Planning, Transport and the Strategic Environment, Councillor Steve Reade, said: “We are launching this call for sites to hear from landowners and others, about the proposals they have which could help South Gloucestershire meet our needs; to accommodate a growing population and to provide those families and our existing residents with the homes, jobs, infrastructure and local environment, which will help ensure we continue to be an attractive place to live and work.
“Once we have a clearer idea of the sites and options available, we will be able to examine them in detail to form a view as to whether they will help us or not as we go forward. We will then engage with our communities through the local plan process to hear and understand their views.
“We will also be consulting with communities later this year to discuss the potential approaches our plan could take to meet our ambitions to reduce carbon emissions and strengthen communities, while making sure the right infrastructure is delivered alongside new homes and jobs.”
The information gathered for Local Plans for each Council will form part of the evidence base for the West of England Spatial Development Plan (SDS). While the SDS is not looking to identify specific locations, feedback through this process will provide understanding of the capacity and supply across the region.
