Council work to bring hundreds of new homes into the heart of Bath on a former gas works site was set out to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities the RT Hon Michael Gove MP when he paid a visit to Bath Western Riverside.

Bath & North East Somerset, Homes England and Berkeley Homes hosted a visit by the Levelling Up Secretary to the brownfield site as well as a look around the successful Bath Western Riverside Phase One.     

The council has submitted an outline planning application for up to 351 much-needed units at the second phase of Bath Western Riverside and anticipates a full detailed application will follow later this year.

Berkeley Homes has already submitted a full planning application proposing 611 new homes, a new nursery, and other facilities at the Bath gas works site.   

Councillor Matt McCabe, cabinet member for Built Environment & Sustainable Development, said: “We are committed to building new and affordable homes across our area and took the opportunity to show the Secretary of State what we have already achieved, with great support from Homes England, and what we hope to achieve in our outline plans for the second phase at Bath Western Riverside on the former gas works site.

“In phase two we want to see a flexible community and business space with a mix of tenures, which include market and affordable homes for rent and shared ownership with are all designed on exceptional building performance standards based on Passivhaus principals and a fabric first approach. The outline plans also promote low car use in line with our ambitions to build a sustainable future for Bath and North East Somerset.”

In the first phase of the Bath Western Riverside project, Crest Nicholson has delivered some 800 homes as part of the council-backed regeneration of the site.