Not all Green Belt is equal – Saltford’s Landscape Setting explained: Did you know while all Green Belt land helps prevent urban sprawl, not all of it is equally protected when it comes to planning decisions?
Some of Saltford’s Green Belt is ‘only’ Green Belt. Other parts of the village’s Green Belt has NE2A policy ‘Setting of Settlements’ designation. NE2A means that development in these areas is only allowed if it conserves and enhances the character, identity, and views of the surrounding landscape – offering stronger safeguards than Green Belt status alone.
SPC has made representations and provided evidence to B&NES Council over the past two years to achieve greater protections for Saltford’s Green Belt, including NE2A protection in the area it terms ‘Saltford South of the A4’. Please view our ‘Protecting Saltford’s Green Belt‘ page, including specific details of SPC’s efforts under the ‘Timeline’ section.
As a direct result of SPC’s questioning of B&NES Council’s methodology when assigning NE2A protection to Green Belt, and SPC’s representations about the special value of sections of Saltford’s Green Belt and how it meets NE2A (or AGLV – Area of Great Landscape Value) criteria, under section 6.40 of the recently published B&NES Council 2025 Options Document it states:
The [B&NES] council has progressed a review of the policy and its associated methodology to inform the new Local Plan (2025-43) in preparation. The review was triggered by a request from Saltford Parish Council for the surroundings of Saltford Village to be designated as an AGLV (Area of Great Landscape Value) and also responds to background evidence carried out by an independent expert consultant in December 2024.
This has resulted in a new map (Map 14, p.169) being published as part of the upcoming Local Plan Options Consultation, which shows proposed changes that reflect additional NE2A protection to areas of Green Belt – including areas that SPC has strongly lobbied to see given greater protection.
Please see the two maps below from 2024 and 2025 for comparison (view a downloadable PDF of these maps here):
- Left: The 2024 map, showing the existing NE2A ‘Landscape Setting of Settlements’ designations as set in 2015.
- Right: The updated 2025 review map, included in the new consultation.
Viewing the maps side by side makes the changes proposed by B&NES Council in its Options paper easier to identify.
Of particular note is the area south of the A4 in Saltford – an area where SPC has focused significant efforts to secure stronger protection. Green Belt in this area is now proposed to be included within the NE2A designation, offering additional landscape protection alongside its existing Green Belt status.
SPC will resolve its view on the contents of Map 14 ‘Setting of Settlements Review 2025: Saltford Map’ as part of its response to the Options consultation at its 4 November 2025 meeting.
As a result of SPC’s lobbying, B&NES’s Options document shows that B&NES Council has:
✅ Reassessed Saltford’s landscape setting using a new methodology
✅ Committed to strengthening Policy NE2A
✅ Begun reviewing the boundaries to consider more areas for protection (outside of Saltford, in the B&NES area)
✅ Proposed updates to planning policies to give greater weight to preserving local landscape character and key views
The three potential sites as at ‘South Saltford’, ‘West Saltford – South of the A4’ and ‘West Saltford – North of the A4’ are located in Green Belt, but not in Green Belt that has additional NE2A ‘Setting of Settlement’ protections as currently designated by B&NES Council.
Please find below a detailed explanation of the above.
📄 The B&NES Council Local Plan Consultation opens on Friday 3 October and closes on Friday 14 November. Residents will be able to submit responses to B&NES Council at https://bathnesplaces.co.uk/localplan/
More detail and context for this SPC impact on how B&NES Council assigns Green Belt protections – The following section of this article provides more detail on the above:
The green-shaded areas on the map on the left below, produced for the Options consultation, shows a combination of land around Saltford that either has already – or has been included in proposals to have – an additional layer of protection called the ‘Landscape Setting of Settlements’, covered by Policy NE2A in B&NES Council’s Local Plan. (Download the PDF version of Map 14 ‘Setting of Settlements Review 2025: Saltford Map’ here) Map 14 has been taken from page 169 of the B&NES Council Options document published for B&NES Cabinet on 17 September 2025, and is part of the new Local Plan (2025–2043) open for consultation as currently in development.
Above left: ‘Landscape Setting of Settlements review 2025: Saltford map’. Map 14 (download the PDF version of Map 14 ‘Setting of Settlements’ here) is taken from page 169 of the B&NES Council consultation document and shows the reviewed ‘Landscape Setting of Settlements’ surrounding Saltford following SPC’s responses to B&NES Council.
Above right: Photo taken overlooking Setting of Settlements ‘Area 3’, September 2025.
Context – SPC’s actions to gain additional protection for Green Belt reflected in Options paper
Since January 2023, SPC has been working hard to gain additional protections for Saltford’s Green Belt. For a list of papers, including those submitted to B&NES Council, please view SPC’s ‘Protecting Saltford’s Green Belt’ page. Some areas of Green Belt already have additional landscape designation (and protection), called NE2A ‘Landscape Setting of Settlements’. The current policy and its method for identifying important landscape areas were first introduced in 2015 as part of the Place Making Plan. B&NES Council is now reviewing this policy to help shape the new Local Plan (2025–2043).
Following SPC’s representations and evidence to B&NES Council, B&NES Council has reviewed its NE2A ‘Setting of Settlements’: Saltford Map to include new areas of Green Belt as also having ‘NE2A ‘Landscape Setting of Settlements’ protection.
As context, and as demonstrated on SPC’s ‘Protecting Saltford’s Green Belt’ page, over the past two years SPC questioned the methodology and approach taken by B&NES Council when assigning which sections of Green Belt in (or near) Saltford would have additional landscape designation. SPC had also urged B&NES Council to designate more areas of Green Belt to have additional protection, including the area named by SPC as ‘Saltford South of the A4’.
On p.167 and p.168 of the Options document, SPC’s action are acknowledged. Section 6.40 states: The [B&NES] council has progressed a review of the policy and its associated methodology to inform the new Local Plan (2025-43) in preparation. The review was triggered by a request from Saltford Parish Council for the surroundings of Saltford Village to be designated as an AGLV (Area of Great Landscape Value) and also responds to background evidence carried out by an independent expert consultant in December 2024.
As prompted by this request from Saltford Parish Council to designate the land around Saltford as an Area of Great Landscape Value (AGLV), a report by an independent landscape consultant (Dec 2024) was commissioned by B&NES Council. Due to this review: The landscape setting around Saltford has been reassessed (first assessed in 2015) and includes new proposed NE2A sections of Green Belt in Saltford; Six new settlements now have proposed landscape settings outside of Saltford; and, B&NES Council is considering options to retain or strengthen Policy NE2A, and to update the landscape setting boundaries accordingly.
This reviewed map and section of the Options Paper confirms that the landscape setting review is still ongoing and will continue through to the Draft Local Plan consultation in 2026.
More landscape settings for existing settlements are expected to be assessed using the updated methodology before the draft plan is finalised.
Saltford Parish Council (SPC) has previously welcomed B&NES Council’s decision to review and improve its methodology, and the actions taken to make this happen.
Map 14 ‘Setting of Settlements review 2025’ Saltford Map (download a PDF version here)
Landscape Setting Around Saltford – Local Plan Review 2025: Map 14 (see above – download the PDF version of Map 14 ‘Setting of Settlements’ here) is taken from page 169 of the B&NES Council consultation document and shows the reviewed ‘Landscape Setting of Settlements’ surrounding Saltford following SPC’s responses to B&NES Council.
As explained under section 6.38 (page 167) of the B&NES Options document presented to B&NES Cabinet, this local landscape designation – originally adopted in the current Local Plan – extends around much of Keynsham and to the north, east, and south of Saltford. According to planning policy and the official Policies Map, development is only permitted in these areas if it conserves and enhances the landscape setting.
During the 2024 Options Consultation, B&NES Council sought feedback on the current boundaries of this designation and whether any changes were needed. Saltford Parish Council (SPC) submitted a response, calling for strengthened protections and a review of the landscape setting around Saltford.
SPC acknowledges the updated proposals in Map 14, which show areas previously listed as ‘Options’ in the 2024 consultation as part of NE2A ‘Setting of Settlements’, as included in the areas shaded in green.
This includes the area near Keynsham Manor and land to the east of South Saltford, both of which were identified as options in the 2024 consultation. (SPC also notes the significant reduction in the proposed number of dwellings for the South Saltford site in the 2025 consultation – now 350–450 homes, compared to 800 homes proposed in 2024).
Policy NE2 & NE2A – Proposed Updates and Saltford Review: Following the 2024 consultation – and as lobbied for by SPC – B&NES Council has committed to a comprehensive review of landscape settings across the district where Policy NE2A applies.
This review forms part of the development of the new Local Plan (2025–2043) and is covered in Section 9 (from p.393), and in more detail under section 9.108 (p.431). Key points from the review include: Policy NE2 (on protecting important landscapes) is being updated to reflect recent national planning changes, including the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF, December 2024); The policy will remain in place but is being refined for clarity and to align better with national policy; Policy NE2A is also being reviewed and strengthened.
Under proposed changes to Policy NE2A, any development within or affecting Landscape Setting Areas must: Demonstrate how it conserves and enhances the landscape’s contribution to the character, identity, and sense of place of the settlement; Protect key views to and from important landmarks and valued landscapes.
Saltford’s Landscape Setting – reassessed and recognised: As part of this process and as above, the Saltford Landscape Setting Area, originally assessed in 2015, has now been reassessed by B&NES Council using a revised methodology. This updated review is presented in Appendix X and Chapter 6 of the consultation document.
Saltford is one of seven areas included in this stage of the review. B&NES Council is now presenting options to either retain or strengthen Policy NE2A, reflecting the updated Saltford assessment and the addition of six newly defined landscape settings elsewhere in the district.
A wider review of other settlements’ landscape settings is expected during the next stage of the Local Plan process, in preparation for the Draft Plan.
To learn more about SPC’s work to protect Saltford’s Green Belt and landscape setting, including a timeline of actions and supporting documents, please visit our article: ‘Protecting Saltford’s Green Belt’.
As above, Key papers that may be of interest to Saltford residents as they consider their own responses to the Options consultation include:
Locally distinctive historic fields south of Montague Road / Manor Road, Saltford South (supplementary evidence report) (May 2025)
Annex – Locally distinctive historic fields south of Montague Road / Manor Road, Saltford South (photographic record) (May 2025)
Grey Belt Assessment of Saltford’s Green Belt (AGLV) (March 2025)
Where this fits within B&NES Council’s 2025 Local Plan Options for Saltford
Visit SPC’s article ‘B&NES Local Plan Options Consultation 2025: Have your say on the future of Saltford‘ to view the locations of the three potential sites in Saltford for development. ‘South Saltford’, ‘West Saltford – South of the A4’ and ‘West Saltford – North of the A4’ are located in Green Belt, but not in Green Belt that has additional NE2A ‘Setting of Settlement’ protections as currently designated by B&NES Council.
The image below shows these potential sites, and others nearby, in yellow (as taken from the Options document published by B&NES Council on 17 September).
Map of the ‘A4 corridor’ labelled Map 16 on p.180 (centre page number) in the B&NES Council Options document, download as a PDF here. Saltford is at the bottom right corner, with three ‘Options’ at ‘South Saltford’, ‘West Saltford North of the A4’ and ‘West Saltford South of the A4’ in yellow as located to the Keynsham side of the village.
Individual maps of the three potential sites for development in Saltford can be viewed on the page linked above ( ‘B&NES Local Plan Options Consultation 2025: Have your say on the future of Saltford‘ ).