Bath and North East Somerset
Welcome to the Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) section of the CPRE website. We are one of 4 Districts of the Avonside Branch of B&NES and cover the local government B&NES area.
Spring 2008 update
Letters to MPs
As part of a coordinated campaign from Regional HQ we have published some press releases in support of letters sent to MPs regarding our concern at the new housing planned in the area under the RSS Panel recommendations.
This has led to articles in some of the local papers as well as some radio interviews. The key messages are in our Press Release - Battle to Protect Bath (PDF 52Kb)
Stop the Drop (www.stopthedrop.org)
Because of lack of resources - i.e. time - we are unable at present to carry out any activity in support of the national campaign. If you would like to do something to make this happen then please contact us.
Event in Bath
We hosted an event at the BRLSI in Bath at 7pm on 13 May (doors open 6.30) to discuss the CPRE Vision 20:26 a copy of which is on the CPRE website. http://cpredebates.files.wordpress.com
North Somerset Show
CPRE Avonside will have a stand at the North Somerset Show on Bank Holiday Monday 5th May at Wraxall (on the B3130) near Bristol. There is plenty to see and do for all the family at this, the south west’s first agricultural show of the season. The show opens at 8.30 am.
Planning locally
We are still waiting for the Secretary of State’s views on the latest document to come out of the Regional Spatial Strategy deliberations. This is expected in July 2008. Once we have this we will need to consider what representations to make. As a reminder, the latest document proposes for our area:
- A 1500 dwelling Urban Extension to Bath which the Inspector has said can include land within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to the south of Bath;
- A 3000 dwelling Urban Extension to Keynsham, whilst continuing to prevent coalescence with Bristol by maintaining the integrity of the Green Belt;
- Development around Whitchurch of 6000 dwellings
- A further 6000 in Bath and 2,300 in the remainder of B&NES
We have attended a meeting of the Whitchurch Parish Council and are waiting to see the results of the questionnaire they are circulating locally before we offer further assistance.
Transport in and around Bath
This is becoming an ever more contentious subject, with the ongoing discussions around the Bath Rapid Transit and broader Bath package. We are keeping in close touch with developments and are keen to ensure that Park and Ride sites are not seen as the main answer to all our problems, rather solutions are found which do not mean that people wanting to come into the city are encouraged to take their own cars for part journeys with an increased network of car parks encroaching on the green belt. We need to continue to press for good public transport, including novel solutions suited to those wishing to travel from villages and surrounding areas.
Help us persuade the Government to rethink need for three million new homes.
The Government has predicted that by 2020 we must build three million new homes. We believe it’s better to plan for homes we need, rather than the numbers we might need. You can help us campaign, by sending an email letter to Caroline Flint, Housing Minister. We’ve created an online letter, which only needs your name and address to complete.
Active members please
One thing that is clear from the new Local Development Framework process is that we need help if we are to keep on top of reviewing and commenting on the many and varied documents that will be published over the next few years. If you are interested in plans for your local area and are would be able to spare a few hours here and there reviewing published documents and giving us your comments, we would love to hear from you.
Your local committee is populated solely by volunteers who share a passion for protecting our countryside and a willingness to give up some of their free time, so if you would like to join us please contact Julia on 01225 331377.
Julia Sherwen
Chairman of B&NES District CPRE and Vice Chairman of the Avonside Branch
The B&NES area
The B&NES area is an important one in the context of rural England, and mirrors many of the challenges faced nationally in balancing economic growth with protecting what is special about our countryside. In our area we have the south-westernmost area of Greenbelt land in the country as well as parts of 2 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (the Cotswolds and Mendips). We are indeed privileged and we are keen to preserve this heritage.
If you are already a member and would like to take a more active role in the local District then we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact us. If you feel that you would like to support CPRE by becoming a member then you will find details on the CPRE website
The aim of our website is to give you an insight into the various matters that are potentially affecting our locality and to refer to other websites where these are of particular relevance to our activity.
The Future of Bath & North East Somerset - Bad News for the Countryside
This is a crucial time for our input into planning the future of the Bath and North East Somerset area. We have now received the Inspectors Report following the Enquiry in Public of the Regional Spatial Strategy in May (see our response) and the outcome is even worse than feared. In the original document B&NES would have been required to plan for the building of 15,500 over the next 20 years, but this has now increased to 18,800. The breakdown is:
- A 1500 dwelling Urban Extension to Bath which the Inspector has said can include land within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to the south of Bath;
- A 3000 dwelling Urban Extension to Keynsham, whilst continuing to prevent coalescence with Bristol by maintaining the integrity of the Green Belt;
- Development around Whitchurch of 6000 dwellings
- A further 6000 in Bath and 2,300 in the remainder of B&NES
It is important to note that there is no opportunity for us to respond to the Panel’s Report at present, but there will be opportunity later in the year to comment on changes to the RSS resulting from the Report.
The Secretary of State will consider the Report and, where she considers it necessary, will propose changes to the draft RSS. This is anticipated in late Spring 2008. The proposed changes will then be subject to 12 weeks of public consultation. These changes may or may not reflect the Panel’s Report as it relates to Bath and North East Somerset. The Council will consider the proposed changes and formally submit comments on them to the Secretary of State. Following consideration of comments on the proposed changes the Secretary of State is expecting to publish the final RSS in late 2008.
We shall be monitoring progress carefully. We want to guard against villages such as Queen Charlton being swallowed up by development and to ensure that the separation between Bristol, Keynsham and Bath is maintained. We also want to ensure that any development is indeed sustainable and does not just add to the current burden of commuting in private cars.
We shall also be attending the April meeting of Whitchurch Parish Council to try to understand the views in the village regarding the massive development planned, and to offer our support for any action needed.
The Local Plan and Core Strategy
We have now responded to the Core Strategy document. Download our response (PDF document). The Core Strategy can be viewed on the B&NES website:
www.bathnes.gov.uk/corestrategy. It now appears that the consultation process has changed. There will no longer be a stage for discussion of preferred options in June, rather a broad options consultation on the Core Strategy is proposed for Autumn 2008.
Other Issues and Campaigns
- B&NES response to the Regional Spatial Strategy
- Planning applications
CPRE tries to monitor the major applications submitted in B&NES and comment where these could significantly affect the rural environment - Flooding
- Waste
- Western Riverside Development, Bath
Whilst not directly affecting the rural environment, CPRE is keen to see the level of housing in the development optimised in order to reduce the need for housing development encroaching on our countryside transport arrangements that do not put extra burden on existing congested routes - Fullers Earth site »
- Transport, including Park and Ride sites
While we support the use of park and ride sites to reduce the number of cars entering Bath, (whilst we would prefer to see the further development of public transport usage), we are anxious that the knock-on effects of such sites do not adversely affect the rural environment, both in terms of the sites themselves and the potential local increase in traffic. More discussion on this area can be seen on our page Park and Ride East of Bath » - Local foods / Countryside Stewardship
- Expansion of Bristol International Airport »
We are also supporting the active involvement of the North Somerset CPRE District regarding the planned expansion of Bristol Airport.
Julia Sherwen, Chairman of the CPRE B&NES District