Potential new development sites and where to place green spaces are among the decisions to be reviewed when a local plan is reset.

Bath & North East Somerset Council is re-launching conversations with key stakeholders on the resetting of the local plan.

This comes alongside them making more calls for sites where future housing and employment development can take place.

The ‘Resetting of the Bath and North East Somerset local plan and District Wide Spatial Strategy’, which was published online last week, explains why the local plan needs to be reset and what that means, and outlines some broad approaches to accommodating new housing, employment development and supporting infrastructure across the district.

The council will have a particular focus on communicating with stakeholders representing local communities.

Both Midsomer Norton and Radstock town councils are currently in the process of writing up their neighbourhood plans.

Councillor Matt McCabe, cabinet member for built environment, housing and sustainable development, gave the go ahead for publication of the document in a single member decision.

Bath & North East Somerset Council’s (B&NES) local plan options document, which was consulted on last year, was based on planning for around 14,500 homes by 2042.

Under the government’s revised housing figures, B&NES’ housing requirement has increased by 105 per cent from 717 per annum to 1,471, which adds up to about 29,000 over a 20 year period.

The council says it also needs to assess what this means for economic growth and providing space for new jobs.

The resetting document outlines district-wide approaches that could function as a focus in considering locations for additional development to help meet those new housing targets and need for employment space.

Alongside the update document, the council is running another call for sites, asking people to suggest potential sites that could be considered for development for housing and economic uses.

Councillor Matt McCabe said: “We are pleased to be able to move forward with the reset of the local plan and will be working closely with parish and town councils and local stakeholders to look at how the places in which they live could change and for potential new development sites to accommodate the significant uplift in the housing numbers that we need to deliver.

“It is important to consider carefully where best to put development like new homes, businesses, schools, health facilities and green spaces to make sure places continue to work for the people who live there as well as protecting the environment and lowering carbon emissions.”

A full public consultation on additional options will take place later this year.

The amended programme for preparing a reset to the local plan is set out in the council’s Local Development Scheme which was both published and implemented in December 2024.

For all of the latest information on the local plan, visit the council’s website or watch a video on their YouTube channel that explains how the proposed revisions will impact the local plan.

Sign ups are also available to the council’s planning policy mailing list to receive updates on the local plan and other planning policy as it happens.