Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment
Helping to deliver more housing for Exmoor's communities
Background to the Process
Exmoor National Park Authority and West Somerset, North Devon and Torridge District Councils are working in partnership to ensure there is suitable land available for future housing requirements. The situation on Exmoor is different from that in the District Council planning areas because our policies require that housing should meet the needs of local communities – this is principally affordable housing for people with a local connection.
The National Planning Policy Framework states that local planning authorities should prepare a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment or SHLAA. The partner authorities have together prepared a Joint Methodology, which sets out how SHLAA reports will be prepared and who will be involved.
A Stakeholder Panel of experts and community representatives help assess the suitability and availability of individual sites and ensure that the SHLAA results are robust and realistic.
SHLAA METHODOLOGY (PDF 1MB)
The SHLAA Report
The SHLAA's role is to identify and assess land and buildings that might have the potential to deliver future housing development. The report is a technical document which will inform the emerging Local Plan.
It is important to note that the SHLAA Report:
- Does not form part of the Development Plan and does not allocate sites for development nor preclude those sites not identified from coming forward for planning permission in the future
- Does not provide a relative assessment of sites against each other and does not provide any ranking or order of preference. Each site is appraised on its own merits.
- Does not indicate that planning permission will be granted for housing development if a site is included in the SHLAA.
- It is not intended to pre-empt any plan making or other planning related decisions and does not indicate that planning permission should be granted or not granted for housing or any other use on any identified site.
Planning applications on sites identified within the SHLAA will continue to be determined on their merits in line with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The SHLAA may however form a material consideration in the determination of planning applications.
SHLAA REPORT - MAIN REPORT (PDF 1.8MB)
SHLAA REPORT – PART 2 – SITE ASSESSMENTS (PDF 1.6MB)
SHLAA REPORT - PART 3 - MAPS
1. Brendon - Exford (PDF 8.7MB)
2. Exmoor - Parracombe (PDF 7.4MB)
3. Porlock - Wootton Courtenay (PDF 8MB)
Updates to the SHLAA are contained in subsequent Authority Monitoring Reports. For information the maps of the named settlements, with relevant SHLAA sites within them, are listed below. These are updated to 31st March 2024 and contain the sites classified as:
- Deliverable - sites with planning permission
- Developable - longer term sites assessed as suitable for housing and brought forward by landowners
- Suitable but not available - sites assessed as suitable for housing but are not currently available
| settlement | settlement | settlement |
|---|---|---|
| Brendon | Exford | Timberscombe |
| Brompton Regis | Luxborough | Winsford |
| Challacombe | Lynton | Withypool |
| Cutcombe / Wheddon Cross | Martinhoe | Wootton Courtenay |
| Dulverton | Parracombe | |
| Dunster | Porlock |
Contact Information
Policy & Community Team, Exmoor National Park Authority, Exmoor House, Dulverton, Somerset TA22 9HL
Telephone: 01398 322 246
Fax: 01398 323 150
Email: localplan@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk