Housing Solicitors

Somerset Council has launched a seven-week public consultation period on a draft plan identifying the sites needed to meet North Somerset’s housing requirement.

The seven-week consultation period on the draft Site Allocations Plan will run from Thursday 10 March to Thursday 28 April.

Copies of the plan will also be available in all North Somerset’s libraries.

The council says that a number of drop-in sessions have been arranged to enable local residents to find out more about the plan and make their views known.

Following the consultation period, the plan will be finalised and submitted to a government inspector for examination.

The inspector will then make his recommendations before the plan is formally adopted by the council in April 2017.

As well as identifying existing and new sites for residential and employment uses, the draft plan also puts forward a number of Local Green Space sites and strategic gaps for protection from development.

The council says the plan has been drawn up following the government’s decision that the number of houses to be built in North Somerset during the Core Strategy period of 2006-2026 should be increased to 20,985.

Since the start of the plan period, a total of 7,426 houses have been built in the district – leaving a further 13,559 homes to deliver over the remaining 11 years of the plan.

Of these, 11,844 new homes already have planning consent or are identified in previous plans – meaning sites still need to be found for a further 1,715 homes.

The plan says this shortfall can be met without needing to encroach on Green Belt land.

Details of the plan and how to comment online will be on North Somerset Council’s website at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/sitesandpolicies from 10 March.

A recent report by think tank Resolution Foundation has found that 18- to 34-year-olds on low to middle incomes could be excluded from the housing market by 2030 as a result of the squeeze on pay since 2000.

In North Somerset low- to middle income wages range from £12,000 to £23,000, with the average house price in North Somerset now an estimated £200,000, pricing many young adults out of the housing market.

Duncan Lewis Housing Solicitors

Duncan LewisHousing solicitors can advise companies and individuals on planning consents and planning appeals, including advising on commercial developments and self-builds.

The Duncan Lewis housing department also advises public and private sector tenants on housing law – as well as landlords in the private rental sector on their obligations under the Housing Act, including health and safety matters (Gas Safety checks), HMO licences, Right to Rent checks, disrepair matters, Notice to Quit, unlawful eviction and landlord and tenant disputes.

There are Duncan Lewis offices nationwide – and more than 20 offices across London and the southeast.

For expert legal advice on UK housing and property law, call Duncan Lewis housing solicitors on 0333 772 0409.