Thousands of homes proposed for Bristol outskirts

Thousands of homes could be built on green belt land on the edge of Bristol.

The plans, which are being put out for public consultation by North Somerset Council, could create a new area of 'south west Bristol' and include homes south of Long Ashton and in areas such as Backwell.

The local authority has been told by government it needs to build a mandatory 23,895 new homes by 2040.

Councillor Mark Canniford, the executive member for spatial planning, placemaking and economy said finding space for the homes was "a difficult balancing act".

"This will mean some hard choices and we need local residents and businesses to take part in this consultation and have their say.

"In particular, if there are alternative ideas or development sites that we can consider," Cllr Canniford said.

The mandatory target by government is 8,620 more homes than North Somerset Council had previously been told it needed to find space for in its local plan.

Large areas of the district are protected as a result of being green belt, a flood risk or are part of the Mendip Hills National Landscape, making finding space to build homes challenging.

The proposals include major new housing in the new village of Wolvershill, expanding Nailsea to the north, south and west and building about 1,000 more homes in Pill and 400 homes on Portishead Down.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the most controversial proposal is likely to be the area directly south of Long Ashton which could be allocated for 7,000 homes.

The village campaigned against plans for US healthcare technology firm Epic to build their European headquarters on land between Long Ashton Bypass and the South Bristol Link Road.

Plans for the site were approved by North Somerset Council's planning committee in January, despite the local parish council warning it would "effectively join us to Bristol and we do not wish to be subsumed into Bristol."

To hit the housing target, North Somerset will need to build 1,593 homes a year, something Cllr Canniford said could be a logistical challenge.

"800 to 900 is the most we've built in a booming year — and now we are being asked to deliver 1,500 houses going forward, without really the skills out there to do this," he said.

Councils have been warned if they do not find the space to hit the new mandatory housing targets, the government will step in and identify sites instead.

The consultation proposing where new homes could go will run until 21 March.

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