Local Plan Partial Update Options Consultation

Why we are consulting

This consultation marks the start of the next stage of the Partial Update to our Local Plan. We ran a consultation on proposals for this from April to June 2020. Following on from the feedback this generated, we are now running this Options Consultation.

The purpose of this Options Consultation was to open discussion and give Bath and North East Somerset residents and other stakeholders a chance to comment on the options, or potential approaches, for addressing some of the critical issues facing our area.

Understanding the Local Plan Partial Update

The Local Plan will set out our long-term perspective on local development, and will include the following:

A strategy to guide development
Site allocations for planned development (including major strategic development locations and smaller sites)
District-wide development management policies (which will help to determine planning applications)

The partial update is not a new Local Plan, but is an update of the Core Strategy and Placemaking Plan. The update will not change the plan period, spatial strategy or overall housing requirement of the current Core Strategy and Placemaking Plan.

What the consultation was about

These are the main areas of the Local Plan that we are considering in our Partial Update:

The need to update particular policies, to address changes in circumstances and national policy and legislation since our Core Strategy was adopted in 2014, particularly the Council’s declaration of a Climate Emergency and an Ecological Emergency
How to update and replenish housing supply, in order to ensure we can meet our Core Strategy requirement for housing up to 2029
A review and update of specific policies to address a number of short-term issues, such as transport policies, including reviewing parking standards, and houses in multiple occupation (HMOs)

The consultation documents

We invited your comments on the following document. You can read this document online, or in PDF format, which is suitable for printing.

There were also a number of supporting documents for this consultation. These were not available for comment, but to provide context to understand the policy options presented in the consultation document, and the wider consultation process.

Summary of the consultation document (provides a brief overview and introduction to the policy topics which we are consulting on)
Supporting documents for the policy options presented (papers and assessment of the impact of policy options, if they are adopted)
Consultation statement (sets out the stages of the consultation process, and gives a summary of previous consultation feedback)

Dates of the consultation

This consultation was held between 7 January to 18 February 2021.

Consultation webinars

As part of the consultation we held a series of public webinars, each one focusing on a specific policy theme. The sessions are available to watch again on the Council's YouTube Channel. You can check the dates and view the webinars on our webinar pages.

What happens next

We have made all comments submitted in this consultation available via our consultation portal. They will inform our work, as we progress towards a Draft Plan.

There will be further opportunities to contribute ideas and comment on the content of the Local Plan Partial Update, as the update progresses towards becoming adopted (being official council policy). These are the stages to adoption, with anticipated dates:

Local Plan progress to adoption
Date	Action
27 August to 08 October 2021	Formal consultation on Draft Partial Update (Regulation 19)
Winter 2021 to 2022	Plan submission for examination by a planning inspector, appointed by the Secretary of State (Regulation 21)
Spring 2022	Examination hearings
Summer 2022	Adoption

If you have questions about this consultation or the Partial Update of the Local Plan, please email us at planning_policy@bathnes.gov.uk