Aerial view of English countryside showing residential areas, green fields, roads, and industrial buildings in the distance.
CASE STUDY

Court House Farm

Court House Farm covers 25 acres of greybelt land at the edge of the village of Pill, five miles from the centre of Bristol. 

Homes
200
Size
25 acres
Stage
Planning and promotion
Location
Bristol

The site is currently designated within the Bristol metropolitan greenbelt but is considered to form part the government’s new ‘greybelt’ designation.

We are promoting the site for release through the emerging North Somerset Local Plan to accommodate up to 200 homes, of which up to 45% will be affordable.

Aerial view of English countryside showing residential areas, green fields, roads, and industrial buildings in the distance.
Large green field bordered by dense woodland under partly cloudy blue sky.
Dirt path crosses green field towards church tower, with trees lining horizon under blue sky with white clouds.

Pill is a large village on the eastern edge of Bristol, benefiting from an abundance of day-to-day amenities that will also benefit from the planned re-opening of a train station (previously closed in 1964 as part of the Beeching cuts), which will provide services on the Portishead branch line into Bristol Temple Meads. Just over the M5, off junction 19, lies the Royal Portbury Dock, a major employer in the region.

Following the rejection of the West of England joint spatial plan, North Somerset council has focused on progressing its own local plan, to direct new growth within its boundary. It is expected that the council will publish their new Reg 19 draft Local Plan in late 2025, before submission for examination in early 2026.

We continue to work with the council to achieve an allocation within the emerging local plan, whilst simultaneously preparing a planning application emphasising the site’s newfound ‘greybelt’ credentials. An outline planning application for approximately 190 units was submitted in Spring 2025.