EPIC planning application

North Somerset Council have been working towards presenting the Epic application to the December P&R meeting. However, they have recently been made aware that the Government is intending to publish a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) before Christmas. Given this, North Somerset Council has been concluded that it would be prudent to review the revised NPPF before finalising a recommendation. Therefore, North Somerset Council will NOT put the Epic application on the December 18th P&R agenda.

North Somerset Council will do their best to prepare for the January P&R cycle, but can't discount that February may be an unavoidable alternative. North Somerset Council will update you again as soon as they know the P&R date to report this application to members.

The North Somerset Council's Planning & Regulatory Committee deferred their decision making. The decision on the EPIC planning proposal is now due to take place on 18 December 2024.

You can attend the meeting in person for free, or if you prefer, watch the proceedings live on the council's YouTube channel: North Somerset Council YouTube.

Councillor representation is yet to be confirmed.

94% of residents who took part in the community consultation vote were against the development. The Parish Council's objection will be based on the argument that this is inappropriate development and harmful for the green belt, and that the development does not pass the test for Very Special Circumstances.

Below is Long Ashton Parish Council's official objection to the Epic planning application, which was submitted to North Somerset Council on Thursday 14 March 2024. The expectation is that North Somerset Council's planning committee will meet in either November or December to consider the planning application.

Any comments which have already been submitted to North Somerset Council on the original application will still be taken into consideration in the assessment of the proposal. Therefore residents don't necessarily need to resubmit their comments to the amended proposals.

If you have any further comments to make, or wish to raise different points to that in your original comments, as a result of the amendments then residents would need to do so by submitting another comment via the NSC Planning Portal website.

North Somerset Council will be undertaking a full re-consultation period (for 30 days) once the amendments are received, and therefore residents, along with the Parish Council, will be notified when the amendments have been made and the timescales for commenting.

The Parish Council has instructed its consultant to review the amended application and produce a response for the Parish Council to review before submission, ensuring we meet the deadline. A newsletter-friendly version will be provided. The position of the PC is to object to the planning application as it still fundamentally fails to meet the exceptional circumstances test.

Epic Healthcare have submitted revised proposals for their proposed office campus at Land Southwest of Long Ashton Park and Ride. The new submission has made several changes to the scheme including a reduction in the size and height of some of the buildings such as the height of the proposed auditorium from 20 to 15 metres (but still the height of a four to six storey building and a 3000 capacity), removal of the Long Ashton Cricket Club from the application site and a proposed reduction in the number of car park spaces.

To support these changes, a new suite of information has been provided by Epic's consultants. Some of which has been prepared to specifically attempt to address objections previously made by the Parish Council regarding alternative sites assessment and supplementing the Very Special Circumstance case.

Consultants instructed on behalf of the Parish Council have reviewed the revised submission and have come to the view that the updated and amended evidence has not alleviated Long Ashton Parish Council's concerns regarding the proposed development. It is continued to be felt that the proposed development does not demonstrate 'very special circumstances' that will enable development in the Green Belt. The applicant has focussed on the economic benefits of the scheme but the Parish Council argues that few of these benefits will come to Long Ashton and this area of North Somerset. And as those benefits would come from any such project wherever it was situated, they don't count as very special circumstances for removal of Greenbelt. Moreover, concerns have been raised by the Parish Council and statutory consultees like English Heritage that this supposed benefit does not outweigh the significant harm it will do to what is 'highest quality greenbelt in North Somerset' (as defined by North Somerset Council) in relation to heritage, visual and landscape impact and highway considerations. It is also felt that the proposals will continue to lead to a significant impact on the openness of the Green Belt leading to further urban sprawl and a loss of the last green buffer between Long Ashton and the City of Bristol.

As such, it is considered that the application is contrary to the policy and guidelines in the local Development Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework that govern how North Somerset planning officers and its planning committee decide these matters and that there are no material considerations that outweigh the clear policy conflict. The Parish Council propose to continue to object to the proposal and will be submitting their representations to the application shortly.

Planning Potential note that (at the time of print) 100+ local residents, including the Parish Council Airport Association that represents 26 parish councils and 2 town councils, have submitted further objections to the amended application. No local residents have expressed support for the new application.

The North Somerset Council's Planning & Regulatory Committee is set to make a decision on the EPIC planning proposal on 20th November. The meeting will be held at the New Council Chamber in Weston-super-Mare and will commence at 2:30pm.

You can attend the meeting in person for free, or if you prefer, watch the proceedings live on the council's YouTube channel: North Somerset Council YouTube.

Cllr Chris Davis and other representatives from Long Ashton will be speaking at the meeting.

EPIC submitted an amended planning application to North Somerset Council in August 2024. EPIC held two community consultations at Long Ashton Community Centre on 29 and 30 July 2024 where EPIC representatives were on hand to answer questions. A model and illustrative pictures were displayed.

EPIC provided the following illustrations saying "following feedback from the community and other stakeholders we've reviewed and updated our plans. We will be submitting our amended proposals to North Somerset Council in August 2024. Our main amendments to the plans are shown below. Get in touch. If you have any further questions or comments then please email us at ukneighbours@epic.com"