Bath & North East Somerset Council is moving ahead with the next stage of its new Local Plan after what it says was an unprecedented public response to the first round of consultation.
The Guildhall in Bath
The authority is continuing work on the document, which will shape where homes, jobs and supporting infrastructure should go across the district up to 2043, as well as the planning policies needed to respond to the climate and ecological emergencies.
Its Local Plan Options consultation, which ran from 3rd October to 14th November last year, asked for views on how future development needs across Bath and North East Somerset could be met.
The council said the exercise prompted the highest level of engagement it has ever seen for a planning consultation. More than 3,200 people attended in-person events, the consultation website recorded 19,000 individual visits, and almost 8,000 responses were submitted online, in addition to letters and petitions.
To support the process, the council published videos, site information and other background material covering potential options in Keynsham, Saltford, Hicks Gate, Whitchurch, Bath and the Somer Valley.
Officers are now reviewing the issues raised in the consultation alongside further technical work as they prepare the Draft Local Plan. That document will set out the council’s proposed spatial strategy, identify sites to meet development and infrastructure needs, and establish policies to be used when planning applications are decided.
Councillor Matt McCabe, cabinet member for built environment, housing and sustainable development, said: “Thank you to all the residents, businesses and community groups who took the time to engage with the Options stage of the Local Plan.
“I attended every community I was invited to, to encourage everyone to respond, and the level of participation has been fantastic. This reflects just how important these decisions are for the future of our communities.
“Your feedback is helping to shape the Draft Local Plan – from how we meet our housing needs and support local jobs, to the policies we develop to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies.
“As we move to the next stage, we remain committed to creating a plan that is fair, sustainable and reflects the priorities of the people who live and work here.”
The Climate Emergency & Sustainability Scrutiny Panel is due to receive a verbal update on 26th March, including details of how changes to the national planning system mean some of the policy options consulted on last year will no longer be able to go ahead.
Under new government policy due later this year, councils will face tighter limits on setting local standards or policies that duplicate or conflict with the national approach.
In Bath and North East Somerset, district-wide development management policies used to determine planning applications will need to align with the national framework, with national policy taking precedence where there is a clash.
A fuller report is set to go before the scrutiny panel on 21st May, before the Draft Local Plan is considered at a special cabinet meeting on 10th June. At that meeting, councillors will be asked to approve it for the next round of public consultation.
If that happens, a six-week consultation is expected to begin in late June, giving residents and stakeholders another opportunity to comment on the proposals.
The plan and consultation responses would then be sent to the Planning Inspectorate for independent examination in the autumn.
Once adopted, the Local Plan will guide planning decisions across Bath & North East Somerset through to 2043.
