Housing targets, local land and what it could mean for your community

As an elected councillor at Somerset Council, I need to share an important update on housing and the Local Plan — local voices are needed now, and this is your chance to shape what happens next.

The Government has set demanding housing targets — and Somerset currently has a 2.1 Year Housing Land Supply against a required five years. In short, we’re not building enough homes fast enough, and a new Somerset-wide Local Plan is now being drafted to address that. It’s expected to run to 2045.

What’s just been published

Somerset Council has published its Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) — the first stage evidence base from the Call for Sites process, which invited landowners, developers and residents to suggest land for potential development. Over 1,600 sites were submitted across Somerset.

What does this mean for local communities?

To see the sites submitted in our area — for my division covering Shepton Mallet, Glastonbury, Wells and the surrounding villages — follow the link here and go to Section 8: Appendix A – Maps of all sites assessed

What the maps mean. This is stage one only — it shows sites landowners have put forward for consideration. It grants no planning permission and makes no allocations. There are further stages of assessment before anything is decided.

Your voice matters

A Scoping Consultation will shortly be under way, running until 24 July. This is your chance to feed back on what matters to you — what you want considered, what you don’t, and what kind of place you want your local area to be. The more local people who engage, the better the final plan will reflect what our communities want.

I’ll share direct links to the consultation shortly, when they are put live.