Government 'forced our hand' on greenbelt plans

NORTH Somerset Council says the government has “forced our hand” to allow building on the greenbelt.

- JOHN WIMPERIS Local Democracy Reporter

'Save our fields' sign in Backwell opposed to the new housing developments in the village stands next to queuing traffic on the A370

The council’s proposed new local plan, a major document which sets out where new developments should go, allocates space for thousands of homes to be built in what is currently land protected as part of the Bristol greenbelt. But councillors say they have been forced to open it up for housing after the government increased its housing target.

In 2024, the new Labour government upped the area's 15-year housing target from building 15,000 homes to building 24,000. Speaking in a webcast council Q&A this December, council cabinet member for planning and environment Anne-mieke Waite (Winford, Green) said the council had tried to protect the greenbelt under its proposals for the local plan, but there was now not enough space to put the homes in the rest of the district.