Has farming, food prodcution and food security been taken into account, especailly including the recent NPPF Counsultation that ended 10h March 2026?
North Somerset Local Plan 2041 - Pre-submission Plan (Reg 19) North Somerset Council is preparing to submit a new local plan, with a 15 year plan period 2026-2041. (Some mapping)
On 10th February NSC announced that its:
nextsteps are “... to collate and consider all of the responses received and to compile a schedule of main issues raised through the consultation, along with a council response and schedule of proposed modifications if we conclude that any suggested changes are appropriate. These, along with the plan and evidence base, will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate (PINs) at the end of March. Once the plan is submitted the examination process begins and the timetable is dictated by PINs. We anticipate the hearings for the Examination in Public to commence the Summer/Autumn. If you have requested to participate in the hearings then the Programme Officer will contact you following submission of the plan. If you have any questions regarding the next stage in the process please contact planning.policy@n-somerset.gov.uk Many thanks Planning Policy Team.”
There is currently no clear protection in NSC’s proposed Local Plan to support food production and related rural communities. There appears to be overriding land use exemptions for housing, solar, BNG, etc. as indicated by NSC’s weak agricultural related DP53 (Best and most versatile land) vs its strong DP52 (Protection of open space and recreation).
In response to the above announcement, an address was made to NSC Full Council on 24 Feb 2026. We are waiting for their detailed response as indicated in the correspondence with NSC up to 11MAR26
On 18th November the government held a Land Use Change: Food Security debate, where the DEFRA Shadow Minister stated that “We are, quite simply, in a food and farming emergency.” CPRE has stated that there are enough brownfield sites in England to build 1.4 million new homes, indicating there is no need to use farmland that may affect much needed food production.
COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE REVIEW CONSULTATION
Principal councils have a statutory duty to conduct a Community Governance Review (CGR) every 10 to 15 years. NSC’s CGR 2025 has now concluded and the final recommendations, as agreed by the Planning and Regulatory Committee at their meeting in December. Please note that any changes will not come into force until the local government elections in 2027. NSC overview and Info.
- “Final recommendation 8:That no amendments are made as part of this review to parish boundaries and council sizes in areas of potential housing development that has not obtained planning consent… 8.2 That a decision on increasing the size of Bleadon Parish Council be deferred until the Regulation 19 stage of North Somerset Council’s Local Plan provides more certainty regarding proposed housing growth.” NB NSC already stated that it had to accommodate in its Regulation 19 plan an additional 8,620 dwellings, above its projected 15 year proposed local housing need (See related Local Plan article opposite and WECA expansion article overleaf)
- Final recommendation 9: “That no parish mergers be made as part of this review where such changes would compromise or diminish distinct community identities… 9.5 That Weston-super-Mare does not extend its boundary to incorporate Bleadon, Hutton and Locking (and specifically Locking Parklands).”
ELECTORAL BOUNDARY REVIEW
The initial consultation began 25 November 2025. The first stage of this electoral review was to determine the number of councillors who should represent the local authority in the future. The Commission has decided that it should be 50, the same as now. Any proposed parish changes resulting from North Somerset Council’s Community Governance Review will be taken into account (see above). Public consultation on proposals will be 5th May – 13th July 2026.
WECA - EXPLANDING WECA INTO NORTH SOMERSET CONSULTATION
Deadline 10th April 2026
This consultation will have a major effect on how development is approved and implemented within Bleadon and North Somerset. More details on WECA BOB blog.
NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK CONSULTATION (NPPF)
See BOB Blog - Proposed changes state:
"National planning policy as it stands already carries very considerable weight in the planning system: it must be taken into account in plan production, and is an important material consideration when making decisions on planning applications"
How did NSC repsond to this public consultation? How did they protect farming, food production and food security?
One of many concerning statements in the NPPFproposed changes states,
"Since the current Framework was updated in December 2024, an unprecedented 80% of major residential appeals located on grey belt land have been approved, homes that likely wouldn’t have been built under previous policy"
How much of that was food producing farmed land? Did the local authorities quantify the food producion loss or risk to food security before allowing that to happen?
"A record 6,365 agriculture, forestry, and fishing businesses closed in" 2024/25 (PDF)
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