This Launch Document is the first step towards preparing a New Local Plan for Bath and North East Somerset. The Local Plan will establish the planning framework for the district 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 the Council’s 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.
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 and North East Somerset.
This Launch Document marks the formal start of the preparation of the new Local Plan.
We would like your views on the approach we are taking in preparing the new Local Plan from the very start, including the content of this Launch Document. Read our consultation support material, respond online now or explore other ways to respond
Our current planning policies were adopted in 2014 and 2017, and whilst some of these policies are being updated through the Local Plan Partial Update 2022, 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.
The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) mayor has a duty to prepare a Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) for the sub-region, covering B&NES, Bristol and South Gloucestershire. However, work on the SDS has been halted, so the three WECA authorities are progressing our Local Plans in collaboration.