What it was trying to achieve

Land around the village of Failand, south-west of Bristol on a key transport corridor between the city and the coast, was being promoted for a sustainable development of 500 homes under North Somerset’s emerging Local Plan. For the site to be allocated, it would need to be released from the Green Belt. The National Planning Policy Framework restricts Green Belt release to the most sustainable sites. Planning permission for an earlier scheme on the same land had been refused. The task was to build the evidence that Failand should rank among those sites.

What made it complex

Green Belt designation means the default position is that development is not permitted. Exceptions require demonstrating that a site is among the most sustainable in the area. There is no established policy definition of what that means in practice. Calibro was initially appointed to promote the site as part of the West of England Joint Spatial Plan, which was subsequently rejected by the Planning Inspectorate. That created the need for a standalone evidence case to North Somerset Council, built from first principles, without a regional framework to anchor it and without a policy benchmark to measure against.

What it produced

The evidence established that Failand could rank among North Somerset’s most sustainable greenbelt sites and contribute to delivering Local Plan aims. The site promotion continues under the emerging Local Plan.

“This is potentially a game changer for the industry, and it’s a real privilege to be involved.”
Nick Small  |  Head of Strategic Development and the Built Environment  |  Stagecoach