Bath and North East Somerset Issues, Challenges and Spatial Priorities

Across Bath and North East Somerset we know that housing affordability is a key issue. Many residents are finding it difficult to access decent housing, either to buy or rent, because prices are so high. Evidence shows that the impact of high house prices is exacerbated by average median workplace wages in Bath and North East Somerset being lower than those nationally. As a result, across Bath and North East Somerset the average house price is around twelve times the average workplace earnings and in Bath it is nineteen. The lack of housing that is affordable for residents and workers not only affects people’s quality of life, but it also directly impacts our economy. The provision of additional affordable housing in B&NES is a major factor influencing the overall level of additional homes needed, caused by a combination of high market prices (both purchase and rental) and insufficient supply in recent decades.

In addition to the lack of affordable housing, communities also raise the requirement for smaller dwellings, both for smaller households wanting to access their first home, as well as for older people that are seeking to downsize.

Work underpinning the Economic Strategy shows that Bath and North East Somerset has a resident workforce that is highly skilled, unemployment levels are low, and we are home to some nationally leading and significant businesses and economic sectors. However, evidence also shows that our economy is under performing (with growth being below that of the West of England and the UK for longer than the last ten years) and median wage levels are low. The causes of economic underperformance are complex, but in terms of the issues the Local Plan can seek to address, these will include a lack of housing that is affordable and an insufficient supply of employment land. These are challenges that need to be addressed to create a prosperous and sustainable economy for the benefit of our residents.

Bath and North East Somerset declared a climate emergency in 2019 and is aiming to be zero carbon by 2030. Four strategic priorities guide action to reduce emissions – decarbonising homes, decarbonising buildings, increasing renewable energy generation, and decarbonising the council’s own operations. Achieving this goal will be challenging, but there are many opportunities for planning to support this journey. It is important that action is taken at all spatial scales, both individually and at a neighbourhood or more strategic scale. From a planning perspective this includes energy use and carbon emissions arising from travel, existing buildings (e.g. retrofitting of energy efficiency measures) and new buildings (operational energy and embodied carbon in its construction). Additionally, planning can help facilitate increased regeneration of renewable energy through freestanding installations, as well as on buildings.

Action on climate change must also consider planning for resilience to the expected future impacts of climate change. The changing climate will bring an increased likelihood of flooding, overheating, and extreme weather events that are likely to become more frequent. Reducing the impact of these changes on our communities and businesses will be critical, and there are opportunities to achieve this alongside reducing emissions, improving people’s health and wellbeing, and supporting nature recovery.

Bath and North East Somerset declared an ecological emergency in 2020 in recognition of the significant declines in species and habitats recorded globally, nationally, and regionally. The council is aiming to be nature positive by 2030 and has set 3 priorities:

• Increase the extent of land and waterways managed positively for nature across Bath and North East Somerset
• Increase the abundance and distribution of key species across Bath and North East Somerset
• Enable more people to access and engage with nature

Further information is set out in the council’s Ecological Emergency Action Plan. The Nature Positive ambition requires innovation in planning, including the use of new decision-making tools and new, more joined up and integrated planning policy that delivers for people and nature. Evidence may be used to identify areas suitable for the development as strategic nature parks to deliver multiple benefits

The district has outstanding landscape character, including the Cotswolds National Landscape and Mendip Hills National Landscape. It also supports nationally and internationally important heritage assets including Bath, which is a double-inscribed UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising two World Heritage Sites: the City of Bath (1987) and the Great Spa Towns of Europe (2021). The district contains many areas of wildlife significance, including internationally important bat sites in and around Bath and at Compton Martin, and the internationally important bird site at Chew Valley Lake. Access to the countryside and the natural environment, which can sometimes be challenging, is highlighted by residents as being important for quality of life, and health and wellbeing, including physical and mental health.

Bath and North East Somerset remains one of the least deprived local authorities in the country, ranking 269 out of 317 for overall deprivation. However, there are inequalities within the district, communities that experience deprivation (both Twerton West and Whiteway fall within the most deprived 10% nationally), and patterns of rural poverty are growing. Life expectancy is 9 years lower for men and 5 years lower for women in the most deprived areas of Bath and North East Somerset than in the least deprived areas. Inequalities is a concern that has been raised by communities, including in relation to an ageing population and people living longer with multiple health and social care needs.

Whilst the health of people in Bath and North East Somerset is generally better than the England average, residents still have important health and wellbeing needs that the built and natural environment can play a role in addressing. There are significant levels of obesity amongst both children and adults in Bath and North East Somerset, meaning that whilst obesity is below the national average more adults in the district are overweight than not. Large numbers of both children and adults are not physically active. Residents also self-report higher rates of anxiety and loneliness compared to the England average. We also have an aging population with a relatively high proportion of people aged over 55 that is projected to increase during the Local Plan period.

Communities have made it clear that being able to access attractive walking, wheeling and cycling opportunities/infrastructure, as well as frequent and reliable public transport, are key challenges across much of the district. This is particularly true in the rural areas where improvements are needed to better connect some villages to their surrounding villages as well as to the cities and towns in Bath and North East Somerset. Through WECA as the Strategic Transport Authority further investment and improvement across the district is needed in public transport and active travel infrastructure to make them more reliable, safer and more attractive, thereby enabling greater use. The availability and frequency of public transport services, particularly bus services in rural areas and the main growth corridors, is currently dependent on external funding, which is subject to ongoing review and cannot be guaranteed over the plan period. This uncertainty and potential impacts for sustainability of development should be taken into account when considering options for allocation in the Draft Local Plan.

Cultural activity plays a vital role in people’s health and wellbeing; with ample evidence of the benefits it brings. It is also an important tool to tackle issues related to educational attainment. Culture contributes to community identity and creating vibrant, attractive places in which to live. It also plays an integral role in promoting and encouraging community cohesion. Culture is extremely relevant to the economy in Bath and North East Somerset, most notably in relation to its role in the vibrant visitor economy, but also via the creative industries for which the West of England is justifiably famed. Across Bath and North East Somerset issues highlighted by stakeholders that need to be addressed include protecting existing cultural and community facilities, providing new and enhanced facilities and workspaces where needed, and considering the important role of different public spaces.

Communities have identified that they value a sense of community identity and belonging, which is important in reducing social isolation and loneliness and creating healthy, vibrant and inclusive communities. The availability of high quality, accessible public spaces and community infrastructure are important in achieving this and are influenced by the planning system. Building and maintaining community identity and local distinctiveness are challenges that the planning system has an important role in addressing by encouraging connectivity to creative venues and workspaces, protecting landscape character, encouraging cultural activity, respecting local building styles and materials, and setting a framework for the design of public spaces.

The council is looking to use the Doughnut Economics Model in underpinning our approach to improving people’s lives and particularly in preparing for the future. We will utilise Doughnut Economics in helping us to ensure we are tackling the climate and ecological emergencies and in moving towards a more resilient, greener and fairer economy. This means doing things differently to how they were done in the past and carefully evaluating our decisions and actions in order that they seek to meet or address our social and economic foundations or needs, without exceeding environmental limits or capacity. This approach is articulated through the Bath and North East Somerset decision-making wheel.

B&NES decision making wheel

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The Doughnut Economics Model and the social foundations and environmental limits set out in the decision-making wheel are closely reflected and incorporated into the Sustainability Appraisal of the Local Plan. Local Plans are statutorily required to be subject to a Sustainability Appraisal in order that the sustainability effects of the plan can be understood, assessed and demonstrated against a wide range of sustainability objectives, as well as identifying how negative effects can best be mitigated. At this stage of the Local Plan preparation process a Sustainability Appraisal is particularly valuable in understanding the sustainability effects of different alternatives or options and therefore, fundamentally informs decision making moving forward to the Draft Local Plan. Preparation of the Local Plan is also informed by assessment and tools that enable us to understand the comparative carbon emissions impact of different options. This is important in helping to ensure the Local Plan tackles the climate and ecological emergencies.

Our Local Plan will plan for development in response to local needs to create attractive, healthy and sustainable places in line with the council’s Corporate Strategy.

The Plan will:

• Create a fairer, more prosperous and sustainable economy
• Maximise the delivery of housing that is affordable

In doing so, our plans for development must:

• Enable Bath and North East Somerset to become carbon neutral by 2030 and deliver a climate resilient district
• Protect and enhance nature through facilitating nature recovery
• Improve health and wellbeing outcomes for all, including through planning health promoting and inclusive places and providing for cultural enrichment
• Reduce the need to travel unsustainably and enable improved connectivity for all through sustainable modes of transport and facilitating locally available services and facilities
• Respect, conserve and enhance our heritage assets and their landscape settings, in particular the World Heritage Sites of Bath and National Landscapes
• Align the timely provision of transport, health, education, social, cultural and green infrastructure with development

These spatial priorities are clearly linked back to and will help deliver the council’s overriding purpose and the core policies, principles and priorities established in the Corporate Strategy. The relationship between the Local Plan spatial priorities and the Corporate Strategy are illustrated in the diagram below.

Relationship between spatial priorities and corporate strategy

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The spatial priorities underpin and will be delivered through the Local Plan site options and policy approaches set out in the sections that follow. They are also unpacked in various parts of this Options Document and in the evidence base, including through Transport Vision and Objectives. The approach to transport is set out in greater detail in each place section. It is fundamentally aimed at improving connectivity by sustainable transport modes within and between existing places, and supporting additional development - by setting a transport vision with and for our district, then planning for delivering the necessary components to realise the vision. Investment to secure the up-front delivery of infrastructure including that to improve sustainable transport connectivity is necessary to unlock new housing and employment development.

As set out above the overarching priority of the Local Plan will be to plan for development in a way that delivers sustainable and healthy places. What we mean by sustainable and healthy places will be set out in the Draft Local Plan. The Local Plan is a key means to delivering successful place-shaping, enabled by early infrastructure investment and delivery. Where necessary the council will also look to use its Compulsory Purchase Order powers to help shape places and achieve both our and communities’ objectives.