Date published: 2025-10-20 | Category: Delivering for local residents, Planning, Preparing for the Future
People are being encouraged to look out for ‘the van with a plan’ when it stops off at more than 50 locations over the coming weeks as part of a significant public consultation on growth plans, which could reshape Bath & North East Somerset over the next 20 years.
Locations varying from high streets, garden centres and Bath city centre locations to pub car parks, colleges and industrial estates are on the van’s route- all in a bid to raise awareness of the council’s consultation and to give everyone a chance to have their say.
The Local Plan Options consultation focuses on new housing, transport, business space, infrastructure and public spaces. It started on October 3 and runs until 14 November.
The Local Plan Options report responds to the government’s new housing targets and the growth agenda with detailed options that could shape better places and create more jobs for the future.
Having consulted last year on an earlier ambitious target of 14,000 new homes over twenty years the council has reset its Local Plan Options after the government doubled the target to 27,000 over eighteen years.
Councillor Matt McCabe, Cabinet Member for Built Environment, Housing and Sustainable Development, said: “We all know there is an overwhelming need for more affordable housing locally. Across B&NES, the average house price is around twelve times the average workplace earnings and in Bath it is nineteen. The housing affordability crisis not only affects people’s quality of life; it directly impacts the local economy.
“We also know we need to create sustainable communities, protect the district’s unique character and address the climate and ecological emergency. It is a challenge we all need to recognise and so the consultation on options that are being put forward is a vital first step to getting your views.
“We are sending a ‘van with a plan’ out and about so please look out for events in your area as well as information on our website and the council’s social media channels. We want to create as many opportunities both online and in person as possible for you to have your say.”
Advice packs for town and parishes councils have been shared to run their own events in addition to the council’s Parish Liaison meeting which is on 15 October where the Local Plan Options report will be discussed.
The Local Plan Options report outlines how places might change over the next 20 years to provide more of the right homes in the right places and enable economic growth. The report sets out how growth could be planned for, to create sustainable communities, protect the district’s unique character and address the climate and ecological emergency.
When finally agreed, the statutory Local Plan will guide development and land use across Bath and North East Somerset until 2043, with adoption scheduled for summer 2027.
By having a Local Plan, the council can better facilitate planned high-quality development and infrastructure provision. It can protect what makes B&NES special, including its renowned built and natural environments, while guiding future sustainable growth. Without a Local Plan, speculative development will take place, in less sustainable areas and in an unplanned way, with inadequate infrastructure support.
Options include new homes and facilities in Keynsham and Saltford Village; growth in the Somer Valley supported by major transport improvements; mixed-use development in central Bath; reuse of brownfield and underused sites; and a more flexible approach to village growth where it supports services and sustainability.
The options put forward also raise the sensitive but important question of whether land to the west of Bath could be brought forward to deliver much-needed homes, support jobs and unlock investment. Any development here would need to demonstrate exceptional design quality, landscape sensitivity and clear public benefit. It would be subject to rigorous heritage and environmental assessment.
Please also look out for our proposed Movement Strategy which is aimed at improving travel choices. A consultation on the strategy runs from Tuesday 14 October to Friday 28 November.
The reports to cabinet about both can be found on the website and the decision meeting on September 25 can be viewed on the council’s YouTube channel.