By John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter: Developers have submitted plans for almost 2,000 homes on land they hope will soon be designated for housing.
Over the last year, a number of large planning applications centred around the town of Keynsham have been submitted to Bath and North East Somerset Council. The council is currently drawing up a new Local Plan, a major document which will set out its planning policies and allocate land for where developments should go.
The plan needs to show the council will be able to hit its government-mandated target of building 27,000 homes by 2043. A draft of the plan is expected to go out for a public consultation in the autumn and it will need to be approved by the government before it takes effect. But already major housebuilders have been submitting planning applications on land publicised as options for what could be included.
A local councillor accused developers of trying to “bypass the due diligence of the new Local Plan” in a response to one application. But, in a different application, developers said that the sites’ inclusion in the Local Plan was inevitable and that submitting plans now would simply help address the housing crisis quicker.
Five planning applications from four different developers submitted since December would see a total of 1,895 homes built on the edges of Keynsham and Saltford, at Hicks Gate, and as a massive expansion of Whitchurch village.
200 homes in west Keynsham – Persimmon
Persimmon submitted plans in December to build 200 homes on the very south west edge of Keynsham.
It said the plans for off Charlton Road would be a “vibrant new development” which connects people to nature. The site makes up most of the “West Keynsham Option 2” potential allocation in the Local Plan, which was presented as a potential place to sire 300 to 400 homes.
“This application is trying to bypass the due diligence of the new Local Plan which is currently in progress,” Keynsham East councillor Andy Wait (Liberal Democrat) wrote in an objection to the planning application.
He said: “The field on which your application relates is part of a wider process where B&NES planners, various stakeholders and, potentially all residents, comment on the bigger picture which will support wholesale infrastructure improvement which should address the dreadful piecemeal approach of the last few years.”
You can view and comment on the plans here: https://app.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=25%2F04952%2FEOUT#details_Section
105 homes in east Keynsham – Taylor Wimpey
On the other side of town, Taylor Wimpey submitted plans in March to build 105 homes on fields next to the Manor Road Community Wood.
Unlike the other major planning applications, this site is already allocated for housing. This site has been included in Bath and North East Somerset Council’s current Local Plan since 2020 and is expected to remain a site for development in the new draft plan.
This has not stopped the plan being unpopular, with 298 people lodging objections — mainly citing the crowded narrow lane and the nature on the site — and only two people lodging their support. Where the road currently turns into a narrow lane, it would instead become a wider road turning into the development, with the lane coming off it as a junction.
You can view and comment on the plans here: https://app.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=26%2F01208%2FOUT
90 homes in Saltford – Crest Nicholson
Crest Nicholson wants to build 90 homes at the other end of that lane in Saltford, on a field between the road and the golf course.
The planning application submitted in May said: “The land is currently in pastoral use and has a rural, open character that forms part of the village’s southern setting.” It described the land as “grey belt” and said the homes would be “sustainable development in a sustainable location.”
The site lies within an area considered as an option to be allocated for housing in the draft local plan. The planning application said: “While this is at an early stage, its potential future policy directions have been reviewed and taken into account where relevant.”
You can view and comment on the plans here: https://app.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=26%2F01700%2FOUT
550 homes at Hicks Gate – Crest Nicholson
Another, much larger, plan by Crest Nicholson would be the first part of a major new town.
Hicks Gate would be a “vibrant, zero-carbon community” on the border of Bristol and Bath and North East Somerset. Although not yet officially part of Bath and North East Somerset Council’s Local Plan, it a site which was put forward by the council itself and has been unanimously backed by the West of England Combined Authority.
The total new town would contain around 3,000 homes when fully built out. Crest Nicholson’s application, which is submitted in July, is for 550. The planning application said: “Whilst forming part of a wider strategic growth location, the application site represents a distinct and deliverable parcel of land capable of coming forward independently.”
Crest Nicholson’s plans concern land to the north of the A4, on the Bristol side of the Hicks Gate roundabout, between the road and the railway line. The whole site set to be allocated for the town spans both sides of the road. No other planning applications have yet been submitted for the rest of the site.
You can view and comment on the plans here: https://app.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=26%2F02508%2FEOUT#documents_Section
950 homes in Whitchurch – Barwood
The largest application, also submitted in July, could see nearly a thousand new homes built in Whitchurch village.
This, along with other areas around Whitchurch, was presented as one of the options for housing allocations which could be included in the Local Plan. The planning application claimed it was “an inevitability” that the land would be allocated for housing.
The application said: “Whilst in an ideal world the plan-led system would complete the process of allocating land for development and then planning applications would be prepared and determined, as the Minister Matthew Pennycook MP has acknowledged, there is a chronic need for housing and an urgent need to address it.” It said that submitting the planning application now would allow it to be approved “as soon as possible.”
The description of the planning application submitted by developer Barwood avoids any mention of the number of homes, something that the attached documents state was a “conscious decision” to avoid the number being limited to that. However, elsewhere the documents state the development will provide 950 homes which will help address Bath and North East Somerset’s “chronic housing shortfall.”
The planning application states: “The proposed development will represent a carefully considered, high-quality and sustainable new neighbourhood that knits seamlessly with and forms an integral part of the village.”
You can view and comment on the plans here: https://app.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=26%2F02537%2FEOUT#documents_Section
Bath Voice and Local Democracy Reporters
The journalists are funded by the BBC as part of its latest Charter commitment, but are employed by regional news organisations. A total of 165 reporters are allocated to news organisations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland including Bath Voice. These organisations range from television and radio stations to online media companies and established regional newspaper groups. Local Democracy Reporters cover top-tier local authorities, second-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
Bath Voice Monthly Newspaper is distributed free to thousands of homes and some supermarkets – distributed from the first of the month. Harry Mottram is the News Editor
Email him at news@bathvoice.co.uk Bath website: https://bathvoice.co.uk/news/
Bath Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/bdtf2kep Also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bath_voice And Bluesky @bathvoicenews.bsky.social And also on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/harrymottram6/
Harry Mottram is a freelance journalist has his own website with more stories on a variety of subjects at https://www.harrymottram.co.uk/ and has a strong social media presence – check out his work.
Read the newspaper online at :https://issuu.com/bathvoice
To advertise to thousands of Bathonians call Shaun on 07540 383870 or email him on sales@bathvoice.co.uk