This website will host all online engagement and consultation on the emerging Local Plan for Bath and North East Somerset.

Prepared by Local Planning Authorities (LPAs), Local Plans are statutory documents which identify sites for development and contain planning policies. 

Planning policies set out the design principles and requirements that development should follow. They are used to shape, guide, encourage or control development.

Local Plans usually cover a period of 15 to 20 years and have a defined geographical area. Once adopted, the Local Plan is the main tool used to determine local planning applications.

The Local Planning Authority (LPA) in Bath and North East Somerset is the Council.

The end of the current Plan period is approaching. To ensure local planning policies are up to date and new development sites are identified, the Council needs to prepare a new Local Plan.

The Council commenced work on the new Plan in 2022, however, in December 2024 changes were made to national planning policy. This included changes to the way housing targets are calculated and how the Green Belt is defined.

To respond to these changes, the Plan making process has been reset including engagement and consultation activities.

District wide engagement is being undertaken to ensure that there is a common understanding what the Local Plan is before consultation starts later in the year.

You can find out more about the Local Plan at the bottom of the this page.

The Council recognises that a lot of views have already been expressed as part of the Options Consultation that took place in Spring 2024, before the Local Plan was reset.

The feedback given remains valid, however, to prepare a justified and robust plan this process needs to be repeated.

This will ensure that everyone has the opportunity to have a say on new and emerging policies before the Plan is drafted.