Date published: 2025-02-06 | Category: Housing
An ambitious Housing Plan, which sets out Bath & North East Somerset Council’s commitment, over the next five years, to provide affordable, safe, suitable and high-quality homes, is set to go before councillors.
The Housing Plan for Bath and North East Somerset 2025-2030, as along with a detailed strategy for Domestic Abuse accommodation and a Housing Services Charging Policy, will be outlined at cabinet when it meets on Thursday 13 February.
Bath & North East Somerset Council’s housing responsibilities are wide-ranging, encompassing not only the development of new homes in the right places but also ensuring that existing homes are safe and meet residents’ needs. Additionally, the council allocates social housing, provides housing advice, and works to prevent homelessness.
The report before cabinet says the B&NES Housing Plan’s aim is to provide focus and visibility across five key areas:
- releasing land for to deliver sustainable housing
- delivering affordable housing through B&NES Homes
- developing housing that is accessible and attractive to all
- reducing homelessness
- ensuring people have access to housing which is safe, warm and accessible.
Councillor Matt Mc Cabe, cabinet member for Built Environment, Housing and Sustainable Development, said: “I whole-heartedly welcome this ambitious plan which is clear about the council’s commitment to see a mix of housing which diversifies the housing supply locally, including open-market, affordable and social housing right across Bath and North East Somerset. It also sets out our aims and actions to tackle empty properties, to reduce homelessness, support victims of Domestic Abuse, as well as our ongoing work on housing standards – ensuring residents have access to safe and warm homes.”
Bath & North East Somerset faces several housing-related challenges. It is one of the least affordable places to live in the UK, with house prices around 13.4 times the annual earnings.
This unaffordability creates significant issues, including a high number of households on the social housing waiting list, the highest number of households in temporary accommodation in 20 years, and negative pressure on economic growth. The housing stock in the area is older than the national average, resulting in lower home energy efficiency, higher heating costs, and poorer housing conditions.
The plan says the council has set an ambitious goal to accelerate its general needs council housing programme over the next 10 years. Its focus is on improving the availability of affordable housing which is accessible to local jobs and services, to meet the council’s overarching purpose: to improve people’s lives.
To support this aim, the council has established B&NES Homes, a Registered Provider, secured Investment Partner status with Homes England and established Aequus a wholly owned housing development company.
The Housing Plan further outlines how the council will utilise surplus council land assets, new land acquisition opportunities and partnering arrangements to unlock and deliver these homes to meet local housing needs and priorities. It also sets out the need for B&NES Homes new build homes to meet or exceed the council’s Net Zero Planning Policy Requirements as part of its commitment to tackling the Climate and Nature emergency.
Currently the construction of 18 new affordable homes for social rent that will be owned directly by Bath & North East Somerset Council is under way.
The properties at the Argyle Works (pictured) site on the Lower Bristol Road, Bath and Danes Lane, Keynsham, are being delivered in partnership with Aequus Construction Limited (ACL) the council’s wholly owned development company
The Argyle Works site, formerly a Highways Maintenance Depot, is being developed to provide eight affordable, energy efficient apartments, three of which will be set aside for young people. The site in Danes Lane, that was previously used for informal parking, is being developed to provide six one-bed properties and four two-bed properties.
Councillor Mc Cabe added: “We are not pursuing our Housing Plan alone- it will be delivered with support from anchor institutions across Bath and North East Somerset. A Housing Mission Board has also been established to unite organisations from across the housing sector, including representatives from local planning authorities, regional authorities, registered providers, housebuilders, and designers. I am very much looking forward to working with the Board to see what we can achieve together.”
The Housing Plan responds to the council’s adopted Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy and Economic Strategy 2024-2034 to set council aims to provide more affordable homes and tackle the impact poor housing has on people’s health.
The cabinet report and B&NES Housing Plan 2024-2030 is available on the council website. You can watch the cabinet when it meets on YouTube
ENDS