Planning Policy

Information

Consultation Calendar

Opportunities for community involvement in the creation of local planning policy documents and other key events are listed.

Public Consultations

Sign up to the Council's new e-consultation facility to be notified of any upcoming consultations and to respond to consultations online.

Local Plan

Bath & North East Somerset’s Local Plan including minerals and waste policies is the primary basis for deciding planning applications in the district. It sets out policies which guide how and where development should take place up to the year 2011. The Local Plan was adopted on 18th October 2007.

Local Development Framework

The Local Development Framework is the portfolio of local development documents that provides the framework for delivering the spatial strategy for the district. The documents which will make up Bath & North East Somerset's Local Development Framework are as follows:

• Core Strategy
• Site Allocations Development Plan Document
• Joint Waste Development Plan Document
• Statement of Community Involvement
• Local Development Scheme
• Annual Monitoring Reports
• Supplementary Planning Documents

Sustainability Appraisals will be carried out for all Development Plan Documents and Supplementary Planning Documents.

The Local Development Scheme provides details of which documents will be prepared as well as a timetable for their production. 

 

Joint Replacement Structure Plan

The saved policies from the Joint Replacement Structure Plan are also part of the Development Plan for Bath & North East Somerset. Direction has been received from the Secretary of State to extend these policies for three years beyond 27 September 2007. A list of saved policies can be seen via the link above.

 

Regional Planning Policy

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has announced her response to the Examination in Public recommendations on the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS).  The RSS contains housing targets for the west of the England area up until 2026 as well as the planning policies needed to respond to the challenge of climate change.

The main findings that effect Bath and North East Somerset are as follows:

• Increase in the overall housing requirement for Bath & North East Somerset for the period 2006 to 2026 from 15,500 new homes in the draft RSS to 21,300
• Expansion of Keynsham to strengthen its role as a service centre through the provision of 3,000 additional homes
• Increase in the size of the urban extension to south east Bristol from 6,000 new homes in draft RSS to 9,500 homes (8,000 within Bath & North East Somerset and 1,500 within Bristol City Council area)
• Increase in the size of the urban extension to Bath from 1,500 new homes in draft RSS to 2,000 homes
• Need to plan for employment growth of about 20,200 additional jobs within the Bath Travel to Work Area including the provision of about 39 hectares of employment land
• The Council needs to identify sites to meet the specific needs of different groups of gypsies and travellers and travelling showpeople by providing pitches and plots as follows: Gypsies & travellers – 19 residential pitches and 20 transit pitches by 2011; and Travelling showpeople – 51 plots across the West of England area comprising the unitary authorities of Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

Bath & North East Somerset Council Cabinet Member for Planning, Councillor Charles Gerrish (Conservative, Keynsham North), said: “We understand completely the need for more housing in our area, especially affordable housing, however, we are disappointed with this news as it represents a significant increase in our housing targets.  With our West of England partners we proposed a target of 15,500 houses in Bath & North East Somerset; this was increased by over 3,000 following the “Examination in Public” panel Chair’s report and now the Secretary of State has announced a further increase of 2,500 houses.  We have real doubts over capacity to deliver such an increase over and above the reasonable projections.  We also have concerns about the reality of the proposed rate of growth of employment in the Bath travel to work area. The current state of the housing market, coupled with our particular heritage and environmental constraints, means that we will find this target unsustainable and will require significant infrastructure developments to be well coordinated with housing growth”

Local residents can read the full announcement by the Secretary of State by visiting the Government Office for South West website

History

• The purpose of the RSS is to establish the long term development needs of the South West and where the development should go in the context of the challenge of climate change. 
• At the Examination in 2007 Bath & North East Somerset accepted the need for the development of 15,500 new homes in the District by 2026 but expressed concerns over the impact on the World Heritage site of Bath & its setting. The Council  sought to ensure that new development should be aligned with investment in necessary infrastructure such as transport and social facilities

Next steps

• Please note: The Government Office for the South West consultation on the Proposed Changes closed at 5 pm on Friday 24th October.  The Government will now consider any comments received and is scheduled to adopt the finalised RSS by the end of this year or early in 2009.
• Bath & North East Somerset considered its response at its meeting on 11th September 2008. View the Councils response to the consultation
• All districts in the south west will have to publish Core Strategies which will set out how they intend to carry forward the requirements set out in the RSS.  A Public Consultation on the Core Strategy for Bath & North East Somerset is scheduled for the end of 2008.

Review of Additional Pitch Requirements for Gypsies and Travellers

The Examination in Public (EiP) into the provision of additional pitches for Gypsies and Travellers in the South West took place on 4 to 6 March 2008.  An Independent Panel and invited participants tested the soundness of the proposed policy for additional pitch requirements to 2011.  The EiP also provided an opportunity to have a structured discussion on issues arising from the proposed policy.

The RSS Panel Report on the review of additional pitch requirements for gypsies and travellers has been issued by Government Office for the South West.  The key implications for Bath & North East Somerset are:

Permanent Pitches

The residential/permanent pitch provision for Bath & North East Somerset recommended by the Panel is for 19 pitches in accordance with the Council's representation to the Draft Policy and the findings of the West of England Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (WoE GTAA).

Transit Pitches

The Panel does not accept the Council’s argument that since the GTAA indicated a primary need for residential pitches it would be premature to estimate transit needs before residential ones and this supposition has no foundation in Circular 01/2006 ‘Planning for Gypsy and Traveller Caravan Sites’.  The Panel concluded therefore that in the absence of any evidence to support the suggested nil provision, the figure of 20 pitches for transit provision in Bath & North East Somerset should be retained.  This figure reflects the findings of the WoE GTAA. 

A separate table setting out the recommended provision for the South West Region has also been issued for information.

Overall provision post 2011

The Panel recommends that a 3% compound rate is applied to Policy GT1 for the period post 2011 to give a basis for DPD allocations and state that further guidance on allocations can follow in the next Review of RSS.

Travelling Showpeople

The Panel recommended Policy GT1 should make reference to the needs of Travelling Showpeople and that the accompanying text should be expanded to give interim figures at the County/Sub-regional level (51 pitches for the WoE - as per the WoE GTAA).  The Panel states that if these figures are incorporated in the Proposed Changes there will be an opportunity for further consultation on them. The Panel endorse the transitional approach set out in paras 36-39 of Circular 04/2007 ‘Planning for Travelling Showpeople’.  The WoE GTAA recommends one yard to meet the needs of Travelling Showpeople in Bath & North East Somerset.

Next Stages

The pitch requirements for Gypsies and Travellers will be incorporated in the Proposed Changes to the draft RSS which should be published summer 2008.  There will then be a 12 week period of consultation on the Proposed Changes.

The Council will consider the proposed changes and formally submit comments on them to the Secretary of State.

Following consideration of comments on the proposed changes the Secretary of State is expecting to publish the final RSS in late 2008

 

External Links

 

• The Planning Pack is produced by Planning Aid and provides 17 information sheets on different aspects of planning. The pack is designed to provide knowledge of how the planning system works to enable individuals and groups to participate in the system.

 

• The Planning Portal is the government’s online service for planning. The website can be used to learn about the planning system or research the latest government policy.

 

• National Planning Policy is set out in the governments Planning Policy Statements, and Planning Policy Guidance.

 

• South West Planning Aid provides free, independent and impartial advice on town planning matters to community groups and individuals who cannot afford professional fees.