Mendip District Council is asking local landowners to help the authority update its information on sites across the district that could potentially be suitable for housing, commercial and community use.
This ‘call for sites’ is a statutory responsibility and the information gathered will be used to update the Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) which in turn will influence the council’s work on its site allocations development plan for the Local Plan Part Two.
As well as updating the council’s evidence on the availability of land, it will also provide useful information for parish and town councils who are producing Neighbourhood Plans.
The council is now:
· Inviting new sites to be submitted which have the potential for housing and economic development use
· Seeking confirmation that the locations submitted in previous ‘call for sites’ are still available and requesting updated information on their potential
· Reviewing the suitability of employment sites promoted for housing use
· Inviting information on community uses which might be provided alongside development or allocated in Local Plan Part Two
Tracy Aarons, Corporate Manager for Built Environment, said: “Updating this list of sites will help to inform public consultation later this year on the options for allocating new sites in the Local Plan part two.
“It is important to stress that just because a site is identified by a landowner, it doesn’t mean that it will be built on – this process is purely to identify sites that have the potential for future development.
“In practice, the ‘call for sites’ will reveal a far greater number of potential development sites across Mendip than will ever realistically be needed, but it is important that we undertake this exercise so that the council and the community are aware of all the options.”
Cllr Nigel Woollcombe-Adams, Portfolio Holder for Built Environment, said: “Having an up to date list of sites for potential development is essential for the council as we go forward with the Local Plan process.
“However, it’s important that parishes and developers understand that this process is not a green light for development on sites submitted.
“The information will also be a valuable tool for many parish and town councils in Mendip who have started, or a planning to start, work on their Neighbourhood Plans.”
The deadline for the ‘call for sites’ process is Friday 29th August 2014.
For more information, visit www.mendip.gov.uk/land You can also contact the council’s Planning Policy team on [email protected] or call 0300 303 8588.