As resolved at its December meeting, SPC agreed to write to the Leader of B&NES Council and the Secretary of State with regards to SPC’s Local Plan Options Consultation response and the issue of Bath’s World Heritage Status.
The letters expressed Saltford Parish Council’s support for B&NES Council’s request for a lower housing target due to Bath’s UNESCO World Heritage City status.
Both letters referenced Saltford as an example of how the current high target could be harmful to local communities.
The letters also provided suggestions for an alternative approach for BaNES Council, for where housing would be more suitably located and would also meet sustainable development objectives.
Copies of the letters were sent by email and post. It was agreed that the email to the Leader of B&NES Council would be copied in to: B&NES Council’s Cabinet Member for Built Environment, Housing and Sustainable Development; Saltford’s B&NES Ward Councillors; and, the MP for North East Somerset and Hanham. The email to the Secretary of State was copied into the Leader of B&NES Council.
Should SPC receive a response to either of its letters, this is likely to be noted under ‘Planning Matters’ in its meeting minutes. To view a copy of SPC’s minutes, please visit our ‘Meetings – Agendas and Minutes‘ page. Draft minutes can also be viewed in SPC’s noticeboard c. 1 week following a meeting.
Text from both letters are as follows below.
Letter to the Leader of B&NES Council:
Dear Councillor Guy,
SPC Local Plan Options Consultation response & the issue of Bath’s World Heritage Status
I enclose a copy of Saltford Parish Council’s response to the BaNES Council Local Plan Options Consultation 2025 (but without the 5 attachments to keep paperwork manageable) that was resolved on 4th November and has been submitted to your planning officers.
As part of its wider response to the consultation, Saltford Parish Council has resolved that it strongly supports BaNES Council’s representations to the government requesting a revision downwards of the total number of new dwellings mandated for Bath and NE Somerset over the Local Plan period (2025-2043) to reflect the special circumstances of Bath’s UNESCO World Heritage City status. Our letter to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government expressing that support is attached; it uses Saltford as an example of the harm the high housing target would cause if as a result Saltford, against the overwhelming wishes of its community, takes some of the new housing that Bath needs.
Furthermore, the Parish Council also resolved to write to you with our concerns about the development options for Saltford and their impact on the forthcoming Local Plan for the wider North East Somerset area including Saltford.
The Parish Council is of the opinion that the priority for BaNES Council should be to build new homes at centres of employment like Bristol and Bath, thereby reducing the need for commuter travel, whilst protecting the Green Belt that benefits city, town and rural dwellers collectively.
Where there is insufficient brownfield land available to meet housing targets, then a Garden Town approach is the best alternative sustainable development option as the Parish Council has proposed to your Council’s planning officers and Councillors for several years now, including during the 2024 and now 2025 options consultations.
Saltford’s proximity to the wonderful city of Bath is something that we know many Saltford residents value. Saltford Parish Council is aware that tourism and economic activity has grown for Liverpool since Liverpool lost its UNESCO World Heritage status in 2021 due to the city taking its development decisions itself to meet the city’s needs. The Parish Council respectfully requests that BaNES Council includes development options in the Local Plan for development where it is needed and is appropriate for the social and economic needs of Bath, in Bath.
The Local Plan should be the democratic means for providing suitable planning protection for key areas of Bath from unsuitable development, to ensure Bath is not ruined by poorly planned development but allows the city to provide the housing the city needs for its workforce within Bath. Pushing development out to the rural and Green Belt parts of NE Somerset including the Bristol to Bath corridor, will increase the current crippling levels of peak time traffic congestion still further at an economic and quality of life cost to everyone.
The Parish Council wants BaNES Council to adopt a long-term and responsible approach to land use planning, one that supports rather than undermines the rural countryside of Bath and NE Somerset including its rural towns and villages like Keynsham and Saltford. A new Local Plan that is fit-for-purpose for Bath whilst protecting the health and well-being of rural areas, and the wildlife habitats and historic landscapes we all value so much, is an objective we surely all want to achieve.
Members of SPC’s Planning Policy Working Group are grateful for the opportunity to meet with you, Cllr Matt McCabe, and senior planning officers in early February. We welcome the chance to continue our positive discussion from 12th August regarding the Parish Council’s request for a protective landscape designation for Saltford’s Green Belt in the draft Local Plan, and we very much look forward to meeting with you to take this forward.
Letter to the Secretary of State:
Dear Steve Reed,
In preparing its response to the Bath and NE Somerset Council Local Plan Options Consultation 2025 that includes significant housing options for rural Green Belt areas in North East Somerset including for the rural village of Saltford, Saltford Parish Council resolved on 4th November to write to you to express its concerns.
Saltford Parish Council strongly supports BaNES Council’s representations to your Department requesting a revision downwards of the total number of new dwellings mandated for Bath and NE Somerset over the Local Plan period (2025-2043) to reflect the special circumstances of Bath’s UNESCO World Heritage City status that restricts heights of buildings in Bath and the restriction on the ability to build outwards into the green setting of Bath, a “universal value” in the UNESCO designation.
The knock-on effect of these restrictions is to push even more development from Bath, the main centre of employment for the wider area, into the rural areas of NE Somerset, thereby necessitating the destruction of farmland, wildlife habitat and recreational space in the Green Belt. Furthermore, an increase in commuting by car will result in adding further pressure on our existing congested roads with commuters using all modes of transport competing for limited space.
As an example, and to put the issue into context, for a rural village like Saltford, a village that has grown by 114% since 1950 and has already reached the limit of its development, the proposed development options being considered would make the existing bad situation for residents even worse and potentially nearly double again the size of the village housing area. Any further loss of our Green Belt landscape setting that supports wildlife, food security and provides important recreational space for residents and visitors from neighbouring communities that have already been over-developed, would have a detrimental effect on the health and well-being of residents.
Due to recent new developments in the area, residents now feel trapped in Saltford during frequently prolonged peak periods of traffic. This results in significantly longer journey times for everyone using the A4. Regular issues on the A4 – such as highway repairs, utilities maintenance, household waste and recycling collections, and delivery vehicles – all add extra delays and considerably disrupt traffic flow. These factors often lead to long tailbacks and periods of stationary traffic, affecting all road users, including the emergency services. This has an economic, social and environmental cost.
Saltford Parish Council therefore respectfully asks that you support BaNES Council’s important and valid request for a more deliverable, less harmful, lower target for new housing that current and future generations in Bath and North East Somerset will not live to deeply regret.
“The Parish Council is of the opinion that the priority for BaNES Council should be to build new homes at centres of employment like Bristol and Bath, thereby reducing the need for commuter travel, whilst protecting the Green Belt that benefits city, town and rural dwellers collectively.” – The image above shows the busy A4 Bath Road through the village of Saltford, as used by hundreds of commuters daily.