South Gloucestershire New Local Plan

We are developing a new Local Plan for South Gloucestershire. This will include a new strategy and policies to guide and manage growth and change in our area over at least the next 15 years.

This is an important opportunity to:

  • shape the places that we live, work and socialise in
  • have a direct impact on quality of life, the natural and built environment
  • have positive impacts on climate change, inequalities and encourage a green economy
  • discuss choices and make decisions about where future homes and jobs might be located, and which areas should be protected

Key updates

October 2022 – New Local Plan timeline and scope
We formally reset the scope and timeline for preparing our new Local Plan at its October 2022 Cabinet meeting. We are intending to bring forward the next stage of consultation, which builds on our two phases of consultation to date, in autumn/winter 2023.

Read more about the timeline and future content in our Local Plan Delivery Programme (LPDP).

March 2023 – Call for Sites update
We have updated the sites, supporting packs of information and the FAQs for our Call for Sites Map and process. Details of this can be found in the Call for Sites drop down below and on the Call for Sites page.

We have introduced a change to our procedure for accepting new Call for Sites. More details on this process are set out on the Call for Sites page.

March 2022 Five Year Housing Supply and Authority’s Monitoring Report
The latest Five-Year Housing Supply calculations, housing trajectory and key housing and employment monitoring indicators are now available to view in the 2022 Authority’s Monitoring Report. This document confirms that as of 15 March 2023 we have a housing land supply of 5.26 years.

You can find out more information on these issues.

Biodiversity and Planning SPD March 2023
Has been completed following the consideration of comments made to public consultation in 2022.
Read the final version on our supplementary planning documents page.

New Local Plan Phase 1 - Issues and Approaches

Consultation now closed.

The Phase 1 consultation ran from 27 November 2020 to 1 March 2021. You can access the document and information produced to support the Phase 1 document below.

New Local Plan Phase 2 - Urban, Rural and Key Issues

Consultation now closed.

The Phase 2 consultation ran from 7 February 2022 to 4 April 2022. You can access the document and information produced to support the Phase 2 document below.

Evidence base and Call for Sites

Our Local Plan evidence base includes documents related to the new Local Plan, including recent and forthcoming new evidence and background information supporting the Phase 2 consultation. 

Further updates and evidence will be added to this page to support production of the new Local Plan.

Visit our Call for Sites consultation page to access the Call for Sites form, find out how this will inform the New Local Plan and to view all Call for Sites received to date on our online map.

Call for Sites Online Map update March 2023

As part of the ongoing work on site assessments we have updated the Call for Sites online map to reflect the latest information on site promotions. The changes reflect the following:

  • mapping errors, corrections from site owners and promoters and new sites
  • updating information on sites where new information has been provided
  • removing sites which are no longer being actively promoted or supported by landowners

The site assessment work also known as the Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) will be published at the next Local Plan consultation. Visit our Local Plan Delivery Programme page for more information on when this will take place.

It is not possible to make live updates to the map so the council has and will continue to make updates periodically.

If you think something is wrong with a site or the supporting information shown on the map, email planningpolicy@southglos.gov.uk and quote the site reference (such as SGXXX) so we can review the issue and add this to our log to be amended in the next update.

Call for Sites outside of consultation periods

Promoters wishing to submit call for sites outside of a formal consultation period or to submit additional technical information to support their existing call for sites should contact our Planning Policy Team using the details below.

We will confirm if we are able to accept the submission. If so, there will be a charge of £290 plus VAT.

Read our frequently asked questions to find out why we have introduced this charge.

New Local Plan timeline

At the South Gloucestershire Council Cabinet meeting on 10 October 2022, an updated Local Plan Delivery Plan (LPDP) setting out future stages for preparation of our new Local Plan was approved.

This sets out when future stages of Local Plan consultation are planned, including a next consultation in 2023 and a draft plan (Regulation 19 stage) in 2024.

This document supersedes previous LPDP and other timelines.

A detailed timeline for preparing our new Local Plan is set out in the Local Plan Delivery Programme (LPDP). This may be subject to change based on any changes to the National Planning System.

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Get advice

We offer an advice service for developers and landowners to meet with us to discuss your Local Plan representations. This is available for £290 plus VAT (as of April 2022) and is subject to us considering it is appropriate.

You need to pay in advance using the online payment system. Contact planningpolicy@southglos.gov.uk to request this service.

Keep updated

By signing up to our consultations, you can keep up with progress on the Local Plan, consultations and key updates from us. You can also register for updates by emailing policy.consultation@southglos.gov.uk.

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