Somerset residents and businesses are being asked to get involved in the new Local Plan, the document that will help decide how the county grows in the years ahead. Somerset Council has opened its first public consultation on the plan, with comments invited until Friday, 24 July 2026.

A Local Plan is, in simple terms, the rulebook for future development. It helps decide where new homes, employment sites and other development should go, and it gives councils the framework they use when making planning decisions.

So why should you get involved? Because the plan will affect the places people live, work, travel through and rely on every day. It could shape where new housing is focused, where jobs and business space are encouraged, and how towns and villages are judged when future growth is considered.

This first consultation is not about whether a particular field, street or edge-of-town site should be built on. Somerset Council says no specific sites are being proposed at this stage, even though it has recently completed a "call for sites" where landowners, developers and land promoters put forward land that could help meet rising government housing targets up to 2045.

That is exactly why this early stage matters. By the time individual sites appear in later consultations, the broad principles may already have been set, including what the plan should cover, how development is spread across Somerset, and how towns and villages are assessed.

The council wants views on the scope of the Local Plan, the way residents and local groups should be consulted later, and the overall vision for Somerset. It is also asking for views on the "spatial strategy", meaning the broad approach to where development could go, and how the sustainability of towns and villages should be measured.

In plain English, this is the moment to say what should matter before the maps and site-by-site arguments begin. That could include the pressure on local roads, schools, GP surgeries, public transport, jobs, green spaces, town centres and village facilities, where those issues are relevant to the consultation.

Councillor Mike Rigby, Somerset Council's portfolio holder for economic development, planning and assets, said: "Please get involved in the consultation – we want to hear from people how they would like Somerset to evolve.

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"This is just the first step in development of the Local Plan. People's thoughts will help ensure we build a Plan covering the right issues, around a vision that people can get behind and focus new development in the right places.

"It's important to stress that this consultation is not about specific sites, and no sites are proposed at this stage."

Residents can take part in the Somerset Local Plan scoping consultation before Friday, 24 July 2026. A summary of responses is expected to be published in early November.

The second round of consultation, which is expected to include more detail on proposed development sites, is due to begin in September 2027. A third and final round is currently scheduled for March 2028, before the Local Plan is submitted to the Planning Inspectorate.

If the timetable runs smoothly, the new Somerset Local Plan is expected to be formally adopted on Friday, 16 March 2029. For residents, that means this first consultation is the chance to influence the big picture before the debate moves on to specific sites.

Original reporting: LDRS/Daniel Mumby

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