Bath Local Plan - Principles and Green Belt
Principles and Green Belt
Principle Themes of the Local Plan
3.01 The characteristics of Bath, with its history,
architectural heritage and physical setting, provide special
constraints to the growth and potential change in the City. In the
preparation of the Bath Local Plan, the City Council acknowledges
that any growth will be limited if the Green Belt and the landscape
setting to the City are to be retained.
3.02 Within the City, land available for development remains
scarce, so the Local Plan endeavours to secure its best use.
3.03 Three principal issues form the basis for the Local
Plan:-
i) the underlying philosophy of conservation, i.e. safeguarding
and enhancement of the assets of the City, and the protection of
the quality of the environment;
ii) the growing concern for the effects of new development,
traffic congestion, both vehicular and pedestrian, and the
consequent introduction of restraint policies, to guide "growth"
activity; and
iii) the inability of the City to grow in physical terms, i.e.
the limitations on space.
3.04 In 1987, the City of Bath was inscribed on the list of
World Heritage Sites. It is the only complete City in the United
Kingdom to be included on the list. The UNESCO accolade means that
a significant obligation rests on the City Council to maintain its
policies on landscape setting and on conservation. There is
provision in the UNESCO Charter for inspections to be made to
ensure this continuity. However, as yet there is no extra funding
forthcoming from UNESCO and other official sources to sustain the
designation and its objectives.
3.05 The accolade is considered as an opportunity for the
Council to re-affirm its conservation objectives, and to extend the
philosophy of conservation to wider aspects of the life of the
City. The City Council will, in particular, regard the status of
the World Heritage Site as a key material consideration to be taken
into account in determining planning applications, and listed
building and conservation area consent applications.
3.06 In order to define what the World Heritage status means for
the City of Bath and the City Council, a statement of commitment
and intent has been prepared. This is known as the Bath Manifesto.
This has greatly influenced the formulation of all sections of this
Local Plan.
THE BATH MANIFESTO
i) This manifesto is a statement of Bath City Council's
commitment to the conservation and protection of the City and the
Council's acceptance of its responsibilities as guardian of a World
Heritage Site. It is hoped that widespread reference will be made
to it in Council reports and publications and that it will be
re-affirmed at regular intervals so that the citizens of Bath and
their elected representations will be conscious of this commitment
at all times.
ii) World Heritage Site
The City of Bath was inscribed on the UNESCO List of World
Heritage Sites in December 1987. This means that the whole of the
City has been recognised as being "of outstanding universal value
from the historical, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological
points of view".
iii) Historical Bath
Although Bath is renowned worldwide as a Georgian City, it is
composed of archaeological and architectural fabric dating from
most periods of its existence. Bath may be best known for its
Georgian terraces, crescents and squares, but other elements such
as the Roman Baths, the medieval street pattern within the old
walled City and the Victorian villas play a vital part in the
creation of its unique urban form. Of equal importance are the open
spaces, green or paved, formal or informal, between or beyond the
buildings, that contribute so much to the heritage that must be
maintained.
iv) Bath Today
Despite the widespread public acceptance of the need for
conservation, Bath continues to be under considerable commercial
pressure for growth and change. The main cause is the need to
provide additional and improved housing, employment and
recreational facilities for the residents of Bath, and the desire
to maintain the City's role as a regional shopping centre. A
further source of pressure is the continued increase in
tourism.
v) The City Council is firmly of the view that Bath is not, and
must not, become a museum and that the needs and aspirations of its
citizens cannot be satisfied without change. The Council does,
however, believe that the requirements of conservation should be
taken into account and that it must seek at all times to prevent or
restrain developments or activities which might threaten the City's
status as a World Heritage Site. The Council recognises that if
this is to be achieved, it will need to adopt and implement
policies which will restrain growth more effectively than Green
Belt and Conservation Area policies have in the past.
The following policy statements should act as guidelines when
considering development and change:-
1. When considering any development or management proposals, the
City Council will have regard to the protection of the historic
fabric. All new proposals for development should respect and
enhance the fabric and landscape of Bath;
2. The City Council will regard the status of the whole City of
Bath as a World Heritage Site as a material consideration when
considering applications for planning permission and listed
building consent;
3. As far as it is able, the City Council will direct all
pressure for change in such a way as to preserve and enhance the
fabric and landscape of Bath;
4. The Council will define and monitor the balance between
preservation and adaptation of the City for the common good of all
Bath's citizens;
5. The Council will adopt policies which seek to preserve the
fabric and landscape of the City, while retaining a balanced
social, cultural and economic structure;
6. Consistent with its objectives and policies to secure the
well being of the fabric and landscape of the City, the City
Council will pursue these and other policies to secure the well
being of its residents. It will apply and develop policies to
promote health measures and safeguard the environment of the City
in respect of hygiene, litter and waste disposal, and where
appropriate, recycling waste material;
7. The manifesto will be reviewed and updated if necessary to
respond to unforeseen and unpredictable pressures for change, and
the appropriate commitment by the City Council to the protection of
the heritage of the whole City will be reaffirmed
regularly.
Green Belt
. GREEN BELT
4.01 The Green Belt is a means of restricting the spread of
development between settlements, and has been important in
preventing the coalescence of the villages around the City with
Bath itself. The Green Belt around Bath has an important role in
the preservation of the special character of the City, especially
in maintaining the setting of this historic town by restricting
development on the hillsides. However, the 'quality' of the rural
landscape in the Green Belt area is not a material factor in the
statutory designation, nor in its continual protection.
4.02 In general, the concept of conservation is strengthened by
the Green Belt, and the resolution (in 1973) to treat extensive
areas of peripheral land within the City boundary as the equivalent
of Statutory Green Belt has prevented large-scale expansion. For
the most part, the inner boundary line was drawn tightly against
the built up edges of the City, except for a few areas where
development was considered appropriate in order to protect the form
and character of Bath.
4.03 The previous Bath City Plan (adopted June 1990) defined the
inner boundary of the Green Belt which remains unaltered in this
Plan. This is consistent with Government advice which states that
these boundaries be unchanged for a considerable length of
time.
Proposals Map4.04 POLICY GB1 - WITHIN THE GREEN BELT, AS DEFINED
ON THE PROPOSALS MAP, PLANNING PERMISSION WILL NOT BE GRANTED,
EXCEPT IN VERY SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES, FOR DEVELOPMENT OTHER
THAN:
i) THE CONSTRUCTION OF NEW BUILDINGS FOR THE FOLLOWING
PURPOSES:
a) AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY;
b) ESSENTIAL FACILITIES FOR OUTDOOR SPORT AND OUTDOOR
RECREATION, FOR CEMETERIES, CREMATORIA, AND FOR OTHER USES OF LAND
WHICH PRESERVE THE OPENNESS OF THE GREEN BELT AND WHICH DO NOT
CONFLICT WITH THE PURPOSES OF INCLUDING LAND IN IT;
c) LIMITED EXTENSION OR ALTERATION OF EXISTING DWELLINGS,
PROVIDED THIS DOES NOT RESULT IN DISPROPORTIONATE ADDITIONS OVER
AND ABOVE THE SIZE OF THE ORIGINAL BUILDING; AND
d) THE REPLACEMENT OF AN EXISTING DWELLING PROVIDED THE
REPLACEMENT IS NOT MATERIALLY LARGER THAN THE DWELLING IT
REPLACES;
ii) THE RE-USE OF BUILDINGS, PROVIDED THAT:
a) THEIR FORM, BULK AND GENERAL DESIGN ARE IN KEEPING WITH THEIR
SURROUNDINGS;
b) THEY ARE OF PERMANENT AND SUBSTANTIAL CONSTRUCTION AND
CAPABLE OF CONVERSION WITHOUT MAJOR OR COMPLETE RECONSTRUCTION;
c) THE PROPOSED USE DOES NOT HAVE A MATERIALLY GREATER IMPACT
THAN THE PRESENT USE ON THE OPENNESS OF THE GREEN BELT AND THE
PURPOSE OF INCLUDING LAND IN IT; AND
d) ANY EXTENSIONS OR ASSOCIATED USE OF LAND PRESERVE THE
OPENNESS OF THE GREEN BELT OR DO NOT CONFLICT WITH THE PURPOSES OF
INCLUDING LAND IN IT;
iii) CHANGES OF USE OF LAND WHICH MAINTAIN THE OPENNESS OF THE
GREEN BELT AND DO NOT CONFLICT WITH THE PURPOSES OF INCLUDING LAND
IN IT.
4.05 The Green Belt area accommodates such uses as farming land,
playing fields, other open recreational land, and cemeteries etc.
This variety contributes to the overall character of the edges of
the urban area. At the same time, almost all the Green Belt area
provides an important landscape setting to the City, and its
present characteristics should be maintained, especially hedgerows,
trees singly and in groups, and areas of woodland. Buildings in the
Green Belt need to be of small scale and inconspicuous in the
landscape. Areas of ecological importance (for example Lyncombe
Vale, Smallcombe Woods) need to be protected. These landscape
issues are dealt with in more detail in Chapter 11 Care of the
Landscape. Changes will only be permitted where they will not
detract from the landscape and which, in general, maintain the
present characteristics. Public footpaths and bridleways, an
integral part of the landscape pattern, should be established and
maintained where appropriate. This is dealt with in more detail in
Chapters 10 'Leisure' and 11 'Care of the Landscape'.
L6, L8 4.06 POLICY GB2 - TO MAINTAIN AND IMPROVE THE
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GREEN BELT LANDSCAPE, THE CITY COUNCIL WILL
SEEK TO SECURE THE MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE HEDGEROWS AND
WATER COURSES, TREES AND WOODLANDS.
4.07 It is suggested that groups of owners and the local
authority should jointly devise management schemes for some parts
of the Green Belt. In this way, a co-ordinated approach to the
maintenance of the Green Belt can be best achieved to improve its
overall quality, retain its essential natural characteristics, and
wherever possible permit public access compatible with the use of
land. Efforts should be made to use any available resources for the
maintenance of the open space around Bath in the most effective and
co-ordinated way.
L2, L3 4.08 Some hillsides which make a vital contribution to
the City's landscape setting have not been included in the Green
Belt because they are not contiguous with the green land that
surrounds the City. These hillsides are protected by Policies L2
and L3 in Chapter 11.
