Saltford Village: Emerging Vision, Priorities and Strategy

• Capitalise on Keynsham’s strategic location within one of WECA’s four priority economic growth zones to create opportunities to enable Keynsham to attract new and innovative employers, including in established and emerging sectors.
• Generate a range of jobs that will mean local residents have access to and can thrive in good work, by providing land to meet employment requirements of the area.
• Provide homes to meet the needs of the district, including provision of homes that are affordable, and a mix of homes to meet the need of a variety of demographics, including homes for older people.
• Create opportunities to enhance the role of Keynsham Town Centre, including a new purpose-built community centre, strengthening the vibrancy of the local High Street to increase amenity for existing and new residents.
• Retain a sufficient green gap between Keynsham, Saltford Village and other nearby settlements, in order to retain the identity of settlements, and seek to improve the quality of the gap, making it more accessible and useable to all.
• Create opportunities to enhance the role of Saltford Village Local Centre strengthening its vibrancy, increasing amenity for existing and new residents.
• Create opportunities to become carbon neutral and nature positive by 2030, and work towards a climate resilient district.
• Ensure provision of community and social infrastructure and sustainable transport initiatives that serve existing residents as well as new, and across all life stages.
• Improve accessibility and connectivity by sustainable modes within Keynsham and Saltford Village, and also between the two settlements.
• Explore options to alleviate congestion within Keynsham Town Centre, and along the A4 corridor at peak times.
• Protect the key aspects of the landscape setting of the two settlements, and views to and from the Cotswold National Landscape.
• Provision of good quality green and blue infrastructure that is accessible and usable to all, placing nature at the heart of any development opportunities, and addressing strategic needs and opportunities.
• Maximise ecological mitigation and biodiversity net gain.
• Restore the natural connectivity and functioning of the river and flood plain for key species.
• Enhance access to the river for leisure, and explore potential to provide more space for boat dwellings.
• Explore the green infrastructure opportunities provided by the River Chew Valley through Keynsham, the River Avon corridor, and Stockwood Vale, for nature recovery, human health and well-being, and climate adaptation and mitigation.
• Seek opportunities to encourage community food growing and edible landscapes, and provide space for allotments.
• Ensure policy supports the delivery of built and natural environments that promote health and wellbeing for all. 

Some of the key issues in Keynsham relate to transport and highways, as listed above. A number of transport opportunities and potential interventions have been identified for Keynsham as contained within the Creating Sustainable Communities in North East Somerset Transport Strategy to address these issues. As the Local Plan progresses, these interventions will need more detailed consideration whilst preparing the Draft Local Plan, including mechanisms for funding them.

The Bath to Bristol A4 corridor provides a strategic transport link with frequent bus services between the two cities. The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (WECA) undertook a consultation on potential options for upgrades to the A4 Bath to Bristol corridor, which set out a range of proposed improvements for active travel modes and bus services. Amongst others, the proposed improvements included continuous and designated walking and cycling routes along the A4, shared between active travel modes in locations where space is limited, bus lanes on both sides of the bypass for much of the corridor, and mobility hubs located along the corridor providing facilities to easily transfer between different modes of transport. A new cycling and walking route was also proposed along Station Road in Keynsham, providing improved connectivity between the A4, Keynsham Railway Station and Keynsham Town Centre. A revised scheme is due to be consulted upon in autumn 2025 in parallel with the Local Plan Options Consultation. This consultation aims to consider the feedback received during the initial phase and provides an opportunity for further engagement with the community. The intention is to gain a clearer understanding of local needs and preferences, helping to shape designs that more closely align with the community’s aspirations.

Regular train services exist between Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads railway stations, with regular services also stopping at Keynsham Railway Station. WECA is developing a ‘New Stations Feasibility Study’ which is reviewing the potential to deliver a new railway station in Saltford Village. This could be a catalyst in helping to transform how both existing and new communities can travel, freeing up road capacity for those that need it.

The Bristol and Bath Cycle Path (Route 4) links east Bristol with Bath, passing reasonably close to the north of Keynsham and east Saltford. Although some local cycle routes connect into Route 4, there are opportunities to better utilise the proximity of these settlements to the route through provision of additional and dedicated cycle paths. Developments on the safeguarded land to the east of Keynsham have secured the delivery of improvements between Saltford Village and Keynsham, funding for an active travel connection to Keynsham rail station through Memorial Park and a new pedestrian and cycle connection to the Bristol and Bath Railway Path. Additional provision could include new segregated cycle lanes, as well as changes to country lanes where appropriate, providing a clear network of attractive primary and secondary routes connecting key amenities and facilities. Locations for active travel improvements could include improvements for active travel between Keynsham and Saltford Village; and improved routes between Whitchurch and Keynsham, including to Broadlands Academy.

There is an opportunity within Keynsham Town Centre to investigate reallocating road space to prioritise those walking, wheeling, cycling and bus users, to achieve mode shift and create better places. Targeted filters as part of traffic calming style interventions support active travel on key routes, and reduce the level and speed of traffic on inappropriate local routes helping to link residential areas with local centres and town centres.

Micromobility – including a range of small, lightweight vehicles and devices such as bicycles, e-bikes, cargo bikes, electric scooters and electric skateboards – represents a significant opportunity in terms of increasing the distances that people can travel without a car, overcoming hilly terrain that would make pedal cycles unfeasible for many people. The provision of micro-mobility rental therefore increases choice. Measures should be implemented to keep traffic on appropriate routes and away from more sensitive areas, supporting opportunities to deliver sustainable transport and public realm benefits. This includes reallocating space from private vehicles to people by widening footways, improving crossings, and creating new public spaces. Enhancing the public realm in town centres in this way will help create a more attractive and welcoming local environment. Provision of new mobility hubs on the A4, within Keynsham town centre and in proximity to Keynsham rail station. Provision of additional mobility facilities at existing car parks.

Public transport interventions should focus on providing bus journey time benefits by prioritising buses over private vehicles, helping to ensure more reliable and efficient services. Enhancements to the bus user experience can also be achieved through the installation of new, modern shelters equipped with digital real-time passenger information systems.

Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) - could be used to connect rural residents to key corridors and proposed mobility hubs within Keynsham town centre, where passengers can gain access to a connecting bus or rail service to complete their journey.

The emerging strategy set out below relates to the wider Bristol to Bath corridor, incorporating Keynsham, Saltford Village and other places. The strategy has been set out for this wider area because of the close functional and physical relationships between different places, that is they do not sit in isolation from nearby places.

The strategy for the Bristol to Bath Corridor seeks to deliver sustainable growth capitalising on the strategic location between Bath and Bristol by taking advantage of existing, and significantly improving sustainable transport links in the area.

Economic growth will build on the area’s strengths and links to Bristol and Bath with employment focused at Keynsham and Saltford Village along the A4 corridor, with a proportionate level of complementary employment at Whitchurch. Additional residential and employment growth will support the role and function of high streets and local centres in Keynsham, Saltford Village and Whitchurch Village. A review of car parking in Keynsham will inform development and public realm projects to revitalise the town centre and encourage modal shift. Development at North Keynsham will assist in removing through traffic from Keynsham High Street to support placemaking.

Additional housing will meet the needs of existing and future residents, including the delivery of affordable housing, which will be facilitated by the ‘golden rules’ where this takes place on land released from the Green Belt. The plan will retain the identity of existing communities by avoiding coalescence and integrating new development with strategic green infrastructure corridors that improve access to nature and enhance biodiversity, delivering the Chew Valley Reconnected project ambitions. Opportunities for nature recovery in the area will be informed by the Local Nature Recovery Strategy.

At Saltford Village options to deliver a train station will be explored to improve the sustainability of the village, with new development delivering the necessary infrastructure to sustain growth, supporting the village centre.