The High Street planning application
Up to 120 affordable homes and a community shop on the land north of High Street, Claverham. The formal consultation has closed, but the application has not been decided and the Council is still accepting comments.
| Reference | 26/P/1613/OUT |
|---|---|
| Site | Land to the north of High Street, Claverham |
| Proposal | Up to 120 affordable dwellings, a community shop, public open space, landscaping and a new vehicle access onto High Street |
| Applicant | Latimer Developments Ltd / Clarion Housing Group |
| Type | Outline — all matters reserved except the strategic access |
| Validated | 11 August 2026 |
| Consultation closed | Friday 2 October 2026 |
| Status | Awaiting a decision — comments still accepted |
| Target decision date | Tuesday 10 November 2026 (can be extended) |
The consultation has closed — but it is not too late to write
The formal consultation closed on Friday 2 October 2026, and more than 320 comments are now on the Council’s public file — thank you to everyone who wrote. The Council has not yet decided the application. Its comment form is still open, and the case officer has told us in writing that comments made after the closing date will be considered up to the point of decision — “the earlier they are received the better”.
If you have not written yet, please do it now. The case officer writes her report before the decision, so a letter that arrives soon can still shape it. If you have already written, your comment stands and you do not need to send it again.
What the Council is deciding now
This is an outline application. That matters, because it changes which comments carry weight.
Being decided now
- The principle — whether building housing on this land is acceptable at all
- The access — the new vehicle junction onto High Street
Decided later, in a separate application
- Layout, scale, appearance and landscaping — what the houses look like and where exactly they sit
Write about the first two
A comment about house design or roof materials will have very little weight at this stage, because the Council is not deciding those things yet. A comment about the junction onto High Street, or about whether this land should be built on at all, goes directly to what is in front of the Council today.
How to comment
- Open the comment form using the green button above. It takes you straight to the Council’s comment page for this application. (If you land on the application summary instead, choose the “Comments” tab.)
- Give your name and address. The Council cannot take anonymous comments into account, and comments from people who live nearby carry particular weight.
- Quote the reference 26/P/1613/OUT so your comment is attached to the right application.
- Write in your own words. First-hand observation is what planning officers value most — the traffic you see on the school run, the flooding you have watched, the walk you take across those fields.
Worth knowing
- Everyone in your household can write separately. There is no minimum age in planning law, and separate letters count separately — a household of four writing individually is four entries on the planning file, not one.
- Individual letters beat a petition. On the Claverham Road application, 298 objections were submitted to the Council individually — that is what carries weight, and what is quoted back at appeal.
- Late comments are still considered — but sooner is better. The Council considers comments up to the point of decision, but the case officer’s report is written before then, so if you are going to write, write now.
Where things stand
Our formal objection is in. Claverham Future’s objection, prepared by our planning consultant, was lodged with the Council on 2 October and is on the public file (Documents tab, “Objection letter 02/10/26”). It asks the Council to refuse the application: it argues the scheme is unnecessary and out of scale with Claverham, contrary to the adopted and emerging Local Plans, and that the application does not properly assess its effects on protected sites and heritage assets.
Yatton Parish Council recommends refusal. Its Planning Committee met on 21 September. The draft minute, which is due to be confirmed on 19 October, records: “RESOLVED: that councillors strongly recommended refusal of application 26/P/1613/OUT”, and among the reasons, “The Parish Council do not support the development of this site.”
New documents since the closing date. The Council has published comments from its Urban Design team (5 October) and a Planning Statement Addendum from the applicant (7 October). We are reading both and will report on the main site, including if either opens a new chance to comment.
Our main concerns:
Claverham needs affordable homes, and a village shop would be welcome. Our concerns are about this site — the junction, the evidence base and the scale — not about who the homes are for.
If you support the application
The consultation belongs to the whole village, not to us. If you support this scheme you can say so too — use the same comment button above, quote the same reference, and the Council must take your comment into account in exactly the same way.
Where the other application stands
Claverham Road (Wain Homes), 26/P/0872/FUL — 100 homes. The consultation on that application has closed; 298 objections were submitted to the Council. It is now awaiting a decision. Thank you to everyone who wrote in.
North Somerset Council’s original decision date for that application was 12 August 2026. It passed without a decision, and the Council has now recorded an extended determination deadline of Friday 30 October 2026 on its planning portal.
The consultation period closed in June, but comments are still accepted while the application is undecided, so there is still time to write to the Council about Claverham Road if you have not already. Our planning consultant’s advice is to write by Friday 23 October 2026 at the latest. The 298 letters already sent stand on the file. Comment on the Council’s portal →
We understand that:
- the outstanding matters relate to highways, and to flood risk and drainage;
- the applicant is working to address comments raised by statutory consultees, including NSC Highways and the Lead Local Flood Authority;
- once those responses are received, the case officer is expected to re-consult some statutory consultees, with any new documents added to the planning portal;
- given the holiday period and a recent reallocation of the application within the planning team, a decision is not expected before October 2026.
We wrote to the Council asking it to confirm or correct this by 20 August 2026. That date has passed and we have received no reply. What is set out above is therefore our understanding, not something the Council has confirmed.
Update, 30 September 2026: the Council’s case officer has told us that once the applicant’s amended plans and other documents are received they will be published on the planning portal and a re-consultation will take place. She does not yet know when that will be, and said a further extension of time is most likely, so the 30 October date may move.
Write your letter
Our guided letter builder for this application stays open while the Council is still accepting comments. It asks a few plain questions and turns your answers into a properly argued planning letter in your own words, ready to send to the Council. It is free, there is no sign-up, and it takes about five minutes. Every member of a household can write separately — there is no minimum age in planning law.