Who owns the land?

The majority of the land is owned by The Hignett Family Trust (HFT), who have submitted the current planning application.

The Hignett family came to South Stoke in 1910. For many years they were against development of the area as the farming land was productive and profitable.

However, that changed in the 1990s when they sold the land for the Sulis Meadows estate where approx 350 houses were built; and in 2018 they sold the land where phase 1 houses are now being built, to Countryside PLC for £19.8m.

The Hignett Family Trust

Sulis Manor

Sulis Manor has been a residential English language school for Spanish schoolchildren.

It was reported in 2017 that the owner had withdrawn plans to demolish Sulis Manor after council planners said there was insufficient information about how the site will be restored and that it would destroy bat roosts. It is identified as phase 2 with a capacity for a further 50 houses which could be applied for should phases 3 & 4 be permitted.

The owners of Sulis Manor reached an agreement with HFT to allow a connecting road to be built across the front of the manor between the western and eastern sites thus destroying 70 trees and compromising Bath's status as a World Heritage City.

Odd Down Football Club

The registered owners of this land are the four trustees of the Odd Down (Bath) Association Football Club. It is included within the allocated area as a potential site for future development and would depend on the trustees taking action.

There are three separate owners of the South Stoke Plateau within the area identified for possible further development.