Dear Consultee
We are writing to you regarding our new Local Plan. The Local Plan will establish the planning framework for the Bath & North East Somerset up to 2042. It will contain a vision, strategy and policies to guide and manage how the district grows and changes over the next 20 years, and how planning applications for new development are decided.
It will also help to deliver our corporate priorities, including improving people’s lives, tackling the climate and ecological emergencies, and preparing for the future in terms of the economy and addressing inequalities.
We have published a Local Plan Launch Document, which sets out the approach we are taking in preparing the Local Plan, including our focus on working with communities and other stakeholders, as well as the priorities the Local Plan should address. Publication of the Launch Document marks the formal start of the Plan preparation process and we would welcome your comments on it.
The consultation runs from 4 October until 15 November 2022
Further details on the Local Plan 2022-2042, including consultation documents, are available to view at:
We are also holding a webinar to launch the Local Plan and discuss the content of the Launch Document, including the priorities the Local Plan should address. The webinar will take place on 18 October from 12:30 – 13:30. Further details are available to view at:
The webinar be recorded and shortly after the event it will made available to view on the Council’s YouTube Channel
About the Local Plan
Planning decisions in Bath & North East Somerset are guided by national and local planning policy. The two Local Plan documents which currently guide development in the district are the Core Strategy (2014) and Placemaking Plan (2017). Whilst some of these policies are being updated through the Local Plan Partial Update (LPPU), we now need a complete review of the existing Local Plan to make sure it is fit for purpose to address the challenges we are facing.
We have to review the Local Plan every five years, to determine whether it remains fit for purpose, or whether we need to update all or part of it. The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) mayor has a duty to prepare a Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) for the sub-region, covering Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire. However, work on the SDS has been halted, so the three WECA authorities are progressing their Local Plans in collaboration.
How to respond to the consultation
All comments must be received by 15 November 2022 and submitted online or by post to: Planning Policy Team, Lewis House, Manvers Street, Bath BA1 1JG
If you are having difficulty in submitting representations please contact planning_policy@bathnes.gov.uk or call 01225 39 40 41 (Option 6)
What happens next
There is a legal framework that we have to follow to change the Local Plan. This involves rounds of public consultation, and finally an examination in public by the Secretary of State.
Throughout its preparation, we’ll be asking for your thoughts and ideas on how the district can grow sustainably to help address the challenges we face, such as the climate and ecological emergencies and the housing crisis, whilst protecting and enhancing the things we value about Bath & North East Somerset.
Details of the programme of preparation for the Local Plan are set out within the Launch Document and within our updated Local Development Scheme.
Contact us
If you have questions about this consultation or the launch of the Local Plan, please email us at planning_policy@bathnes.gov.uk
Yours sincerely
Richard Daone
Deputy Head of Planning (Policy)
Bath & North East Somerset Council
Planning_policy@bathnes.gov.uk
As part of the planning process we collect and publish personal information, please see our corporate privacy notice: www.bathnes.gov.uk/council-privacy-notice.
Improving People’s Lives
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The contents of this email message, and any attachments, are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. The message does not necessarily express the views of Bath & North East Somerset Council and should be considered personal unless there is a specific statement to the contrary.************************************************************************************************
- Posted: 4th October 2022