Selling land in North Somerset
A plan about to be examined, a low delivery test result and a supply figure under challenge. What that means for your land.
The local plan
A plan about to be examined, a supply figure in doubt
The adopted plan is the Core Strategy, adopted in January 2017 for the period to 2026, with the Sites and Policies Plan of 2016 and 2018. The North Somerset Local Plan 2041 was submitted for examination on 22 May 2026. It provides for a minimum of 23,700 homes over 2026 to 2041 or 1,580 a year. Hearings begin in the week of 9 November 2026 and run into December (North Somerset Council examination page, read October 2026). Adoption before 2027 is unlikely.
What that means for an owner. The council's Residential Land Survey and Housing Land Supply Position Report of April 2026 claims 5.05 years, but it says itself that the figure relies on sites in the plan under examination and will not be relied on for decisions. An inspector at an appeal decided in March 2025 found 2.79 years. The Housing Delivery Test result for 2025, published on 17 August 2026, was 64 per cent, down from 71 per cent, so the presumption in favour of sustainable development applies. Policy CS32 supports homes within or adjoining the settlement boundaries of the larger villages. About 40 per cent of the district is Green Belt, with releases proposed at Nailsea, Backwell, Pill, Portishead and Long Ashton. Flood risk and bats decide more sites than anything else.
The council's Habitats Regulations Assessment of October 2025 records that North Somerset is outside the Somerset Levels and Moors catchment, so the phosphate hold that stopped consents in Somerset does not apply here. Bats and flood risk still do. We check both before anything else.
North Somerset Council's online planning register shows applications by address or postcode, with the officer's report and the decision. Search near your land to see what has been approved nearby.
What we are looking for here
Village edges and sites in the service villages
Beside the larger villages
Fields and paddocks touching Yatton, Backwell, Congresbury, Winscombe, Churchill, Sandford and Banwell, with a gate onto an adopted road and no flood zone.
Inside a settlement
Large gardens, orchards, yards and former club or chapel land within a village or town boundary.
Previously developed land
Business and farm yards and buildings with a road and services, in or beside the towns and villages.
Questions landowners ask
Straight answers
Has the North Somerset local plan been adopted?
Does North Somerset have a five year housing land supply?
Is North Somerset affected by the phosphate rules?
Free land review
Tell us about your land
Tell us the postcode. We do the checks at our cost and telephone you within ten days.