Local Plan Update from B&NES.
Bath & North East Somerset Council is re-launching conversations with
key stakeholders on the resetting of the local plan and call for sites
for future housing and employment development.
The ‘Resetting of the Bath and North East Somerset Local Plan and
District Wide Spatial Strategy’, which was published online earlier
this week, explains why the Local Plan needs to be reset and what
that means and outlines some broad approaches to accommodating new
housing, employment development and supporting infrastructure across the
district. It also marks the re-launch of conversations and working with
key stakeholders, particularly those representing local communities.
Councillor Matt McCabe, Cabinet Member for Built Environment, Housing
and Sustainable Development, gave the go ahead for publication of the
document in a single member decision.
Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Local Plan Options document,
which was consulted on last year, was based on planning for around
14,500 homes by 2042. Under the National Planning Policy Framework
(NPPF) the government’s revised housing figures increase the B&NES
housing requirement by 105% from 717 per annum to 1,471 (or around
29,000 over a twenty-year period). We also need to assess what this
means for economic growth and providing space for new jobs.
The resetting document outlines district-wide approaches that could
function as a focus in considering locations for additional development
to help meet those new housing targets and need for employment space.
Alongside the update document the council is running another call for
sites, asking people to suggest potential sites that could be
considered for development for housing and economic uses.
Councillor Matt McCabe said: “We are pleased to be able to move
forward with the reset of the Local Plan and will be working closely
with parish and town councils and local stakeholders to look at how the
places in which they live could change and for potential new development
sites to accommodate the significant uplift in the housing numbers that
we need to deliver. It is important to consider carefully where best to
put development like new homes, businesses, schools, health facilities
and green spaces to make sure places continue to work for the people who
live there as well as protecting the environment and lowering carbon
emissions.”
A full public consultation on additional options will take place later
this year.
The amended programme for preparing the reset Local Plan is, as required
by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, set out in the
council’s Local Development Scheme which was published and came
into effect in December 2024.
Visit the council website www.bathes.gov.uk for the latest information on the Local
Plan or watch a video on our YouTube channel that explains how the
proposed revisions will impact the Local Plan.