2025 could see some major developments approved in North Somerset.
The government has told the district it needs to hit a mandatory target of building 1,593 homes a year . Major areas east of Weston-super-Mare have already been allocated for development, but now the council is consulting on finding more sites — which could include opening up areas of the green belt to developers .
There are many major planning applications that have already been submitted by developers and are waiting to be decided, with some of the largest together totaling about 2,300 homes. But the most controversial and divisive planning application is not about any homes at all.
Here are ten of the most significant planning applications which could be decided in 2025:
515 homes in Backwell
Taylor Wimpey is seeking planning permission to build 515 homes on the west side of Backwell.
An outline of the area where the development is planned. The northern section would be where the 515 homes would be built, while the southern section would include a park and nature areas
(Image: Taylor Wimpey)
The plans were submitted at the end of 2023 , with developers saying: “This development will provide an excellent choice for all buyers, from working professionals and young couples taking their first step on the housing ladder, to growing families or downsizers.”
But 1,291 locals have objected to the plans on the council’s planning website. Just 15 people have lodged comments in support.
Houses will be a mix of one, two, three, four, and five-bedroom properties, of which 35% will be affordable housing. The development would also include children’s play areas, a community hub, and land for a primary school. A new ‘nature park’ would be created at the south of the development, across Chelvey Road, with new bat habitats as well as community growing patches, new orchards, and natural play areas.
You can view the plans here.
400 homes to the south of Nailsea
But it is the town next to Backwell where the most new homes are planned.
One application could see 400 homes built on the southern edge of Nailsea, just north of the railway station that the town and village share. Plans were submitted in 2023 for the development which would cover a 94 acre site, which would be accessed with a new roundabout on Station Road.
You can view the plans here.
381 homes to the north of Nailsea
Nailsea and Backwell sit right on the edge of the green belt which surrounds Bristol, with a rail connection into the city, making them a typical focus for developers. But one plan submitted in 2024 could see a major housing development built on the side of the town which lies within the green belt.
Fields to the north of Nailsea that would be developed under the plans
(Image: Google Maps)
Land Value Appliances LLP (LVA) wants to build 381 homes — of which 40% would be affordable — on 28 hectares of fields between the northern edge of Nailsea and the Land Yeo. A statement submitted with the application said: “The land north of Nailsea will be an innovative development, working with the existing town context and setting whilst opening new and exciting opportunities for the local community.”
The plans would also include a new care home, space for employment, and improvements to the existing playing pitches. A third of a hectare would be left for a new community building and car park.
310 people have lodged objections to the plan, while five people have lodged comments in support. One person called the plans “disrespectful.” They said: “What’s the point of declaring it as green belt if developers will be allowed to build on it anyway?”
You can view the plans here.
The Epic campus
The most controversial planning application in North Somerset is not a housing development at all.
Epic, an American healthcare technology company, says it wants to base its European headquarters in the United Kingdom, in a major 90-acre “campus” which would support 2,000 jobs by 2040. But the location Epic has selected — for which they say there are no alternatives — has seen the plan met with fierce local opposition.
The company has submitted a planning application for the wedge-shaped-area between the Long Ashton bypass, Colliter’s Way, and the railway line — which would largely plug the narrow gap in the green belt between Bristol and Long Ashton. EPIC has said: “The campus will be highly sustainable, use renewable energy sources, and most of the campus will be green space.
The site in Long Ashton which American software company Epic want to build on
(Image: Epic)
“Building designs have a small footprint, are low-rise, and draw from the character and agricultural heritage of the area. Landscaping plans, like planting trees and wildflower meadows, the renaturalization of the Ashton Brook, and reintroducing an orchard, will increase biodiversity of the site.”
But 684 people have lodged objections to the plan, with 43 lodging comments in support. Former local MP for North Somerset Liam Fox had called the plans “inappropriate” and told the village he would be a staunch defender of the green belt. He warned: “It is highly likely that even if there is economic activity generated by the site, it is much more likely to be felt in different parts of Bristol than in North Somerset.”
US medi-tech firm EPIC want to build a new office campus on fields between Long Ashton and Bristol
(Image: Epic)
But that was in January. In July, he lost his seat as Labour won the election with a message about reassessing the green belt. Labour’s plans for the green belt are focussed on lower-quality “grey belt” areas and housing developments. But in one North Somerset Council meeting on the Epic plans, a council officer said they had been told that the government’s Office for Investment “consider this to be important from an inward investment perspective.” A spokesperson for the government unit told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it was aware of the plans but did not comment on live planning applications.
The plans are expected to come before North Somerset’s planning committee in the early part of the new year. Councillors will have to balance the strongly-held concerns of many locals with the substantial amount of investment and jobs the development would bring.
You can view the plans here.
226 homes at Locking Parklands
Meanwhile a plan to build another 226 homes at Locking Parklands could see the development finally get a high street.
The Locking Parklands development is seeing RAF Locking turned into a major new village right on the edge of Weston-super-Mare, with many hundreds of homes set to one day be built across the whole site. Currently, the site is surreal and disjointed, with different developments dotted around and the village’s GP surgery “in the middle of a field” as the houses around it have not yet been built.
The GP surgery ‘in the middle of a field’ on Anson Way in Locking Parklands
(Image: John Wimperis)
In September, plans were submitted to build more on the empty streets around the GP surgery. A statement submitted with the application said: “Countryside Partnerships and Homes England are delighted to submit this reserved matters application for 229 homes and 12 retail units as part of a comprehensive mixed use scheme that will deliver the long-awaited first phase of the high street at Locking Parklands.”
You can view the plans here.
200 homes in the green belt by Pill
Plans are at an early stage to build 200 homes in the green belt next to Pill.
200 homes could be built here, in the green belt near Pill
(Image: Google Maps)
No planning application has yet been submitted, but developers have submitted a request to North Somerset Council for an opinion on whether an environmental impact assessment would be needed to build 100 homes on 8.6 hectares of fields next to the M5’s Gordano Services.
A request for an environmental impact assessment is usually a sign that a planning application will follow soon after.
You can view the plans here.
190 homes in Yatton
Plans to build 190 homes at the Batch in Yatton could be decided by the government.
Persimmon submitted a planning application for the homes — half of which would be affordable housing — in March 2023. But when North Somerset Council had not made a decision on granting planning permission by the determination deadline, developers lodged an appeal with the planning inspectorate.
An inquiry over the homes began in September but has been adjourned until January. The inquiry is set to resume on Tuesday January 7, with closing statements set to be heard on Friday January 10.
You can view the plans here.
150 homes by Nailsea
Another 150 homes could be built next to Nailsea’s football club.
The Vistry Group submitted a planning application to North Somerset Council in 2023 to build the homes across a 10 acre site just north of Hanham Way.
You can view the plans here.
125 homes in Backwell
125 homes are set to be approved on Farleigh Fields in Backwell at appeal.
North Somerset Planning committee looks at the plans for Farleigh Fields
(Image: John Wimperis)
Persimmon submitted a planning application for 125 homes on the fields in June. After the council missed the deadline to decide the planning application, Persimmon have now appealed to the government’s planning inspectorate for them to make the decision instead, triggering a planning inquiry.
On December 18, the council’s planning committee voted not to contest the building of the homes at the inquiry but to fight to make Dark Lane safer under the plans, amid “serious concerns” for children’s safety on their walk to school.
Bridget Petty with the sign with the hands of Backwell children
(Image: John Wimperis)
This is the second development set to be built on Farleigh Fields. Backwell locals fought plans to build on the fields for 40 years but, earlier this year, Persimmon finally got the green light to build 90 homes on fields.
The six day public inquiry before the planning inspectorate is set to be held from Tuesday March 11.
You can view the plans here.
120 homes at Langford’s mushroom farm
Plans to build 160 homes at Langford’s mushroom farm were submitted to North Somerset Council in 2023 .
Monaghan Mushrooms wants to build the homes across the mostly vacant northern half of its mushroom farm site in Langford, while keeping the farm going on the other part of the site. Originally, 100 of the homes would be laid out in a new estate with “attractive streets,” while 60 would be “co-living” workers’ accommodation in two blocks next to the mushroom farm.
But the plans for workers’ accommodation have now been dropped, with the plan now being to build 120 homes on the site.
You can view the plans here.
Join Somerset Live’s WhatsApp community for top stories and breaking news sent directly to your phone
Somerset Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.
Through the app, we’ll send the latest breaking news, top stories, exclusives and much more straight to your phone.
To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Somerset Live team.
We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.
To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Click here to join our WhatsApp community.