Welcome to the Bath & North East Somerset Draft Local Plan Regulation 19 Consultation

The plan has been published by the Local Planning Authority [LPA] in order for representations to be made on it before it is submitted for examination by a Planning Inspector. The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, as amended, [PCPA] states that the purpose of the examination is to consider whether the plan complies with the relevant legal requirements, and is sound. The Inspector will consider all representations on the plan that are made within the period set by the LPA.

To ensure an effective and fair examination, it is important that the Inspector and all other participants in the examination process are able to know who has made representations on the plan. The LPA will therefore ensure that the names of those making representations can be made available (including publication on the LPA's website) and taken into account by the Inspector.

You should consider the following before making a representation on legal compliance:

• The plan should be included in the LPA's current Local Development Scheme [LDS] and the key stages set out in the LDS should have been followed. The LDS is effectively a programme of work prepared by the LPA, setting out the plans it proposes to produce. It will set out the key stages in the production of any plans which the LPA proposes to bring forward for examination. If the plan is not in the current LDS it should not have been published for representations. The LDS should be on the LPA's website and available at its main offices.
• The process of community involvement for the plan in question should be in general accordance with the LPA's Statement of Community Involvement [SCI] (where one exists). The SCI sets out the LPA's strategy for involving the community in the preparation and revision of plans and the consideration of planning applications.
• The LPA is required to provide a Sustainability Appraisal [SA] report when it publishes a plan. This should identify the process by which SA has been carried out, and the baseline information used to inform the process and the outcomes of that process. SA is a tool for assessing the extent to which the plan, when judged against reasonable alternatives, will help to achieve relevant environmental, economic and social objectives.
• In London, the plan should be in general conformity with the London Plan (formally known as the Spatial Development Strategy).
• The plan should comply with all other relevant requirements of the PCPA and the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012, as amended [the Regulations].

The tests of soundness are set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Plans are sound if they are:

• Positively prepared – providing a strategy which, as a minimum seeks to meet the area's objectively assessed needs, and is informed by agreements with other authorities, so that unmet need from neighbouring authorities is accommodated where it is practical to do so and is consistent with achieving sustainable development;
• Justified – an appropriate strategy, taking into account the reasonable alternatives, and based on proportionate evidence;
• Effective - deliverable over the plan period and based on effective joint working on cross-boundary strategic matters that have been dealt with rather than deferred, as evidenced by the statement of common ground; and
• Consistent with national policy – enabling the delivery of sustainable development in accordance with the policies in the NPPF and other statements of national policy, where relevant.

If you think the content of the plan is not sound because it does not include a policy on a particular issue, you should go through the following steps before making representations:

• Is the issue with which you are concerned already covered specifically by national planning policy?
• Is the issue with which you are concerned already covered by another policy in this plan?
• If the policy is not covered elsewhere, in what way is the plan unsound without the policy?
• If the plan is unsound without the policy, what should the policy say?

If you wish to make a representation seeking a modification to a plan or part of a plan you should set out clearly in what way you consider the plan or part of the plan is legally non-compliant or unsound, having regard as appropriate to the soundness criteria set out in the NPPF and referenced above. Your representation should be supported by evidence wherever possible. It will be helpful if you also say precisely how you think the plan should be modified.

You should provide succinctly all the evidence and supporting information necessary to support your representation and your suggested modification. You should not assume that you will have a further opportunity to make submissions. Any further submissions after the plan has been submitted for examination may only be made if invited by the Inspector, based on the matters and issues they identify.

Where groups or individuals share a common view on the plan, it would be very helpful if they would make a single representation which represents that view, rather than a large number of separate representations repeating the same points. In such cases the group should indicate how many people it is representing and how the representation has been authorised.

Please consider carefully how you would like your representation to be dealt with in the examination: whether you are content to rely on your written representation, or whether you wish to take part in hearing session(s). Only representors who are seeking a change to the plan have a right to be heard at the hearing session(s) if they so request. In considering this, please note that written and oral representations carry the same weight and will be given equal consideration in the examination process.

Please note that the Local Plan should be read as a whole and that Chapters 2-6 should be read alongside Chapter 1.

Chapter 1 - District-wide Strategy

Chapter 2 - Bath

Chapter 3 - Bristol to Bath Corridor

Chapter 4 - Somer Valley

Chapter 5 - Rural Areas

Chapter 6 - Development Management Policies

Appendices 1 to 4

Appendix 5 - Policies Map

Appendix 6 - Monitoring Framework

Appendix 7 - Strategic and Non-Strategic Policy Schedule

Executive Summary

Statement of Rep Procedure

Duty to Cooperate Statement

Consultation Reports (Reg 18)

Equality Impact Assessment / Equality Analysis

Sustainability Appraisal (SA) for the Bath and North East Somerset Local Plan

Habitats Regulations Assessment

Housing Supply Topic Paper

Student Accommodation Topic Paper

Whitchurch Village Heritage Topic Paper

Green Belt Exceptional Circumstances Topic Paper

Identifying sites for allocation in the Draft Local Plan Topic Paper

Climate Change Topic Paper

Transport Topic Paper

Landscape Setting of Settlements Topic Paper

Settlement Boundary Topic Paper

Identifying sites for allocation in the Draft Local Plan Topic Paper - Site Assessment Spreadsheet Appendix

Local Housing Need Assessment Supplementary Report: Proposed Housing Requirement September 2026

Draft Infrastructure Delivery Plan and Appendix

Open Space Assessment

Landscape Sensitivity Assessment

Visually Verified Montages for the B&NES Local Plan and Landscape Sensitivity Assessment

Green Belt Assessment Stage 1

Green Belt Assessment Stage 2

Substantial Local Plan allocations heritage impact assessments - Whitchurch sites

Local Plan allocations heritage impact assessments - Bath, West of Bath, Batheaston and Bathford Site

Level 1 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment

Level 2 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment

Local Plan Viability Assessment Stage 2 Final Report

Future Economic Needs Assessment Addendum August 2026

Retail & Town Centres Topic Paper

Retail & Town Centres Topic Paper Appendix A - Local Centres Land Use Summary

Hicks Gate Joint Masterplan Document

Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA)

B&NES GTAA Update August 2026 – Carrswood View Public Site

Build-to-Rent Rental Review

Affordable Housing Commuted Sums Methodology Review

West of England (WOE) Evidence Base for WOE Net Zero Building Policy

Net Zero New Buildings: Evidence and guidance to inform planning policy

Cost of carbon reduction in new buildings - Final Report

West of England Evidence Base for Net Zero Building Policy: Operational Carbon for Non-Domestic Buildings

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Research Note

Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) Methodology

Employment Sites Assessment

Primary School Expansion Feasibility Study