North Somerset Sites & Polices Consultation April 19th Deadline is FRIDAY.
STOP PRESS - Credit to PC where credit is due, alerted by this Blog their website has now been updated
North Somerset Consultation is now closed, comments can still be viewed - More information in due course
This consultation is not just about the village settlement boundary or the planned development at the quarry (BL1 as the Parish website indicates) it potentially affects everything within the Bleadon Parish boundary which as you can see includes the Bleadon levels to Loxton; and from the A370 to Hutton Hill.
Bleadon needs continued protection from any unwanted development and this consultation is the opportunity to do so.
Bleadon currently has several areas under North Somerset policies and constraints including, but not limited to, housing development, flood areas, nature conservation areas, groundwater protection, various areas of sites of scientific interest, etc. 
That's why comments on the latest North Somerset Sites & Policies Document (or Development Plan) is so very important so that any protections are not lost. Something the PC today seem to have completely lacked in communicating to parishoners. Considering this consultation started on the 26 February there wasn't a mention about this important and vital process in the recent Parish Council Village News, and was only posted this week on the PC website on April 11.
Please be aware of errors on the recent PC website posts, the deadline for comment is 19th April and not the 9th so you still have time to comment. Also, the PC comment regarding the resident that supports Quarry development needs clarification as the comment actually supports the proposed North Somerset policy proposal with significant caveats and NOT the Marshalls Development as the PC website text may imply.
So, please try and read all the policy consultation that could potentially affect Bleadon (complicated I know but worthwhile for the future of Bleadon). The PC website comment states that they will carefully monitor responses to ensure they are representative of parishioners. I for one would really like to know just how exactly they know the parishioners views considering their limited forms of communication on these issues and it would be interesting to know what comments the planning committee have received for their meeting on 15th April.
If you are interested about how housing development sites have been determined, e.g. sites like the quarry, then this link should help.
Please also be aware that the NS development plan may need more public input and even perhaps a public referendum before it could proceed and the request to comment now is part of the process. I would also hope that the 2005 Village Plan questionnaire results (achieved at significant cost) are also used as a ready reference for this type of consultation as these were the residents views for Bleadon's 20 year plan at that time and are no doubt still relevant today. Unfortunately, I fear that these results have long since been forgotten by the PC as the last update to the Action Plan was in 2009 as also published on the PC website as of today.
Comments on the consultation can be made to North Somerset via email or online. The online comments here indicate some of the diverse policies and issues that are being commented on during this consultation. (you can specify the comments to only search for Bleadon)
Make A Comment
Comments (1)
North Somerset Core Strategy update
Following a legal challenge, Policy CS13 which sets out the scale of new housing within North Somerset has been remitted back to the Planning Inspectorate for re-examination. The judgment also required eight other policies to be remitted as any change to the housing requirement may also have consequences for these other policies. With the exception of these policies the plan remains adopted.
The Planning Inspectorate has appointed a new Inspector, Roland Punshon to undertake the re-examination of the remitted policies. In the first instance only Policy CS13 will be re-examined. If this process finds that the housing requirement should be increased and if this has any consequential effects on any of the other remitted policies then the potential impact on these other policies will be re-examined at a later date. No other policies will be re-examined.
The next stage will be for the Council to consider, and then consult on, any new evidence, and all interested parties will be notified when this will take place and given an opportunity to make representations. All representations received will be forwarded to the Inspector who will then make arrangements for the examination hearings.
Please visit the North Somerset Core Strategy webpages for more information. Further information will be posted when it is available. http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/Environment/Planning_policy_and-research/localplanning/Pages/Core-Strategy.aspx
Michael Reep
Planning Policy Manager
North Somerset Council
Address: Town Hall, Walliscote Grove Road, Weston-super-Mare BS23 1UJ
Telephone: 01934 426775
Website: www.n-somerset.gov.uk