Introduction and policy background
Planning decisions in Bath and North East Somerset are guided by National and local Planning Policy. You can view national policy in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and call the local planning policy The Local Plan. The two Local Plan documents which guide development the district are the Core Strategy (2014) and Placemaking Plan (2017).
The wider council policy context
As a council, they declared a Climate Emergency in March 2019, and an Ecological Emergency in July 2019, pledging to become carbon neutral by 2030. They agreed their current planning framework in 2014, and so are now in the process of updating their planning policies, to reflect these environmental commitments.
Read more about our work on the Climate Emergency
The Planning policy context
They have to review the Local Plan every five years, to determine whether it remains fit for purpose, or whether they need to update all or part of it. There will be a full review of the Local Plan alongside the West of England Combined Authority Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) in 2023. Therefore, they are making a Partial Update of the Local Plan, to address a number of urgent issues.
There is a legal framework that they have to follow to change the Local Plan. This involves rounds of public consultation, and finally an examination in public by the Secretary of State. View more detail on the Plan adoption timeline.
Following the previous consultation on the Local Plan Options (Regulation 18), and acting on the public feedback this generated, they have now progressed the Local Plan to the next formal stage. This is called the Regulation 19 (Publication) Local Plan, and is the document that they will submit to the Secretary of State for Examination in Public. If it is approved, they are seeking to adopt this version, as the future framework for decision making on planning until the new Local Plan is adopted in 2024.
Have your say
You are invited to comment on the draft Local Plan, before it is submitted to the Secretary of State for formal examination. They welcome your input on the document, which will have an impact on the people who live, work, visit or do business in the district, as well as future generations.
You can submit your comments online or by post. The online process is easier and quicker, and means that you will get an instant confirmation that we have received your comment.
Find more information about how to comment here.