More Development Opportunities in Sedgemoor?

Sedgemoor is the latest area of Somerset to declare housing land supply figures

are now at critical levels.

The latest land supply figures published by Somerset Council declare Area North (the former Sedgemoor area) has become the fifth area in the county to see its housing land supply position drop below the level mandated by Government.

Government policy states that Local Planning Authorities are required to maintain a supply of deliverable sites sufficient to provide a minimum of five years' worth of housing against their housing targets. Demonstrating the required level of supply ensures there are sufficient sites in the pipeline that have been granted planning permission, are under construction or allocated for development in the Local Plan.

However, the latest figures published by Somerset Council show that Area North (the former Sedgemoor area) can now only demonstrate a supply of 4.77 years of land suitable for housing.

This new data brings Area North into line with the other areas of Somerset, where in recent years they have struggled to grant enough permissions to maintain the required level of supply. Until recently, Area North had been protected from this position due to a large number of consented planning applications, with many of their allocated sites under construction being within the main towns of Bridgwater and Burnham/Highbridge.

Somerset Area	5 Year Housing Land Supply Figure
Area North (former Sedgemoor)	4.77 years
Area East (former Mendip)	2.27 years
Area South (former South Somerset)	2.07 years
Area West (former Taunton Deane)	3.17 years
Area West (former West Somerset)	4.12 years

Table 1: Latest published land supply position per area of Somerset

What does this mean for Somerset Council?

Local planning authorities without five years' supply of land for housing will have to apply a 'tilted balance’ when determining planning applications.

This means the authorities will be required to grant planning permission unless a proposal unacceptably affects certain protected areas or assets, or where the harms ‘significantly and demonstrably’ outweigh the benefits.

Sedgemoor's Local Plan already has positive policies which set the criteria for approving dwellings outside of settlement boundaries. Now the Council will be forced to weigh any adverse effects arising from proposed schemes which are not fully policy compliant against the benefits of creating additional housing.

For example, it is conceivable that the benefits of additional housing might outweigh residual flood risk concerns if a development can be shown to be safe for its future occupants. This issue is highly relevant given that so much of Area North lies within a higher risk flood zone. An alternative scenario might be that the Council is forced to relax their stipulations that small scale, edge of settlement housing should be self-build only, if the scheme was otherwise acceptable.

New opportunities as a result of land supply deficits

The recently published data on land supply in Somerset will present new opportunities for applicants and landowners seeking planning permission for housing in locations which are or can be made sustainable.

If you would like to explore potential development opportunities in Somerset, Salmon Planning Company's team of chartered planning consultants and architects are well placed to offer expert planning advice and in-house architectural services.

With offices in Somerset and Devon we operate across the South West.

Do not hesitate to contact us on 01749 671500 or email info@salmonplanning.co.uk

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