The first consultation in the process that will lead to Somerset’s new Local Plan has been completed with responses now being analysed.
The Local Plan Scoping Consultation enabled people to have their say on how Somerset could change in future and marked the first stage in the development of the Local Plan. It will help guide where and how change happens across towns, villages and the countryside over the next 20 years, but was not a consultation on specific sites.
Councillor Mike Rigby, Somerset Council’s Lead Member for Planning, Economic Development and Assets, said:
I would like to thank everyone who spent time responding to the scoping consultation and sharing their thoughts at this early stage.
This will help to ensure we build a Local Plan covering the right issues, around a Vision that people can get behind and focus new development in the right places.
It’s important to stress that this consultation was not about specific development sites or potential allocations, and no sites have been allocated at this stage.
The development of the Local Plan is an extensive process, with multiple stages and lots more consultation to follow before any final plans are adopted.
The Council is still developing its spatial strategy for future growth across Somerset. This work will help determine broad patterns of development before decisions are made about whether any individual sites are suitable, available, achievable, and consistent with that strategy.
Any sites that are eventually proposed for allocation in the Local Plan would be subject to further evidence gathering, assessment and public consultation before any decisions are taken.
The next consultation on the content of the emerging Local Plan, including the proposed spatial strategy and supporting evidence, is currently planned for 2027. This will be followed by further public consultations in 2028, with the final Local Plan being submitted later that year. Formal adoption is scheduled for 2029. Further information on the Local Plan and the timetable is available here
